Heaven Forbid
by JEM-99
Summary: Jack thought all women were scum. This changed when he met Evelyn Mercer, and little Anna James from next door. What else can Anna change? A Jack Romance
1. Chapter 1

A/N So, this is my very first attempt at a Four Brother's Story! I really hope you like it, and please review giving me your thoughts/opinions.

In the beginning of the story, Jack is 11, Angel is 15, Jerry is 16 and Bobby's 18. I'm pretty sure the ages were never revealed in the movie, or when Jack came to Evelyn. So, I decided he'd be 11. There's going to be a couple of fast forwards in this story, it starts out when Anna and Jack are 11, but follows them into their teen years, and during and after the movie. So be prepared!

Obviously, Anna James and Mark James are my very own creations. And I do not own anything that has to do with Four Brothers! Also, I do not own The Fray's Heaven Forbid, the title of this story!

Hope you enjoy, and review!

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Girls, women, anything of the female variety were bitches.

That was 11 year old Jack _Whatever Foster Parent of the Week Last Name Was _general consensuses when it came to the other gender.

Okay, well maybe the new foster mom wasn't so bad. Her twinkling blue eyes and silver hair didn't give out the impression of a bitch.

Yet.

So why, when the three asshole's from the 9th Grade were punching and kicking the shit out of him, did that chick come along and feel the need to save him?

They were fighting dirty, two of them, who were large as fuck, held down his arms and hands while their leader -cause lets face it the gorillas didn't seem to have any active brain cells- pounded on him.

With the too hot September sun beating down on his face and his refusal too let out any whimper or cry that would indicate pain, a defence mechanism he learned in his 10 years of foster care, he was too occupied to see the girl with blonde hair round the corner.

But he wasn't too occupied to hear her anger induced scream, "Get off of him! What do you think you're doing?"

The next thing Jack knew the leader of the Gang of Morons had stilled in momentary shock, because no one, especially a barely 5 ft blonde girl would yell at him. But to the paused and no longer held down Jack's surprise, the little wannabe punk was shockeningly thrown back by the force packed behind a well delivered punch.

"What did he ever do to you, slimeball?" A punch to the jaw was delivered, and then, "Just 'cause he's IQ is probably twice yours, which isn't saying much- let's be honest- doesn't give you the right to wail on him."

After another impressive kick, the girl stopped and stared at the boy in the eye, and said almost sweetly, "If you know what's best, you'd be running right about now."

The leader, who now had a bloody nose and a well placed look of fear in his eyes, scurried off with his two goons following him.

The girl had a tint of a grin on her face, before she realized that Jack was still crouched against the wall in pain and in a bloody mess.

Despite the quickly swelling eye, Jack was able to recognise her from his homeroom class.

She was the little pixie that had tried to make conversation with the new, scrawny and almost mute new kid. But after taking one look at her, one of the smallest and shortest kids he'd ever seen, and her shiny curly blonde hair, her _happy _green eyes and her welcoming smile, he's dubbed her a _Princess_.

So he hated her on pure principal and turned away, leaving her with a faded smile.

Despite this, she walked towards him, attempted to lift him off the ground and whispered, "My name is Anna."

They didn't get far, before a stocky man in his mid-20's came rushing around the corner, yelling at this- this girl, "What the hell happened? You know to meet me at 2:30, as soon as the bell goes." He stopped, taking in the state of the kid on Anna's arm, eyes going wide, "What the hell happened to the new Mercer?"

Mercer.

The name of his foster mother, and his three new foster brothers.

The boy, who Jack assumed was this Anna's brother if the same curly mat of blonde hair gave any indication, took Jack from Anna, and placed him in the back of a old Chevy Impala. Anna was ordered to stay in the back and, "Do somethin' bout that nose, Ann."

Jack tried to fight, cause normally back seats of a strange car were no better than musty old closets with locks on them, if memory served correct. But the guy heard his sister's gasp of surprise and reassured the hurt 11 year old, "Hey kid, it's okay, Bobby asked me to pick ya up. He had some things to take care of."

Bobby.

The only one of the Mercer brothers that were white. The bulky and near massive 18 year old with dark brown hair, and _sometimes_ kind eyes that reassured Jack that "_Ma_" wasn't like most foster moms and no one in the Mercer home was gonna hurt 'em...

Except maybe Jerry's big ass teeth.

Jack had just stared back at the smirking 18 year old, not sure how to respond.

So he remained quiet. Like he did most of the time.

The trip to the Mercer home was pretty quick, but that could have just been of Jack's distraction with watching the blonde girl- Anna, he reminded himself- take care of his bleeding nose.

After Mark, the brother, put the car to a tire screeching halt and parked the car half assed outside the Mercer home, Jack was helped into the house while Anna followed with the two eleven year old's school bags.

Anna skipped ahead, opening the door for the two boys, and called out toward the kitchen, "Miss Evelyn!"

Jack's foster mom came rushing out, a drying cloth in her hands which she quickly dropped at the sight of her newest son, "Oh my god! Jack, what in the world happened?"

Evelyn made quick time in getting the first aid kit and cleaning up Jack, and it seemed that Evelyn's incredulous cry had alerted the older Mercer brothers.

Looking around the room, Jack couldn't understand what all the fuss was about.

He was use to the blood, the gore, the bruises.

"His nose has been bleeding for a while now, and I think his stomach is really bruised up. And his eye is really beaten up too." Anna said slowly, looking at Jack who refused to look back.

Evelyn, looking up into Jack's confused eyes, said, "Anna and Mark live next door. I've known them since they've been little, they're the James'."

Bobby finally spoke up from his spot againist the staircase, asking the question everyone wanted to, "What happened, Jackie?"

His eyes widened, face become paler, and his bony hands began to shake.

What would they say if they found out the newest boy at the Mercer resident was a weakling, would he go back? Would Evelyn look at him in disgust now?

Evelyn whispered, "You can tell us you know. Nothing bad will happen."

"He was protecting me." Came the hurried response from Anna.

Bobby turned to her, "Wha did ya say, Tink?"

Frowning at the nickname, she explained, "These three guys from 9th grade cornered me on the way to the parking lot. Started saying stuff, threw my books around, you know, the regular idiot stuff. And then Jack came and he tried to take up for me, but there was more of them then there was him, I guess."

Mark bristled, fury marking his features, "They cornered you?! Those little shits, wait till I get my hands on em-"

"You will do no such thing, Mark Albert James." Evelyn sharply replied, ignoring the outraged looks on both Bobby's and Mark's faces, "If they are going to pick on a girl like Anna then they obviously have problems of their own. Now, speaking of problems, Bobby, do you mind telling your Ma, what kind of business kept you from picking up Jack at school?"

Bobby's outrage turned to a lousy attempt of innocence that made Anna giggle, "Ma-"

'Don't Ma me, Robert Mercer!"

"She's always gotta pull out that Robert part."

"And don't you go muttering under your breath." Evelyn's kind face softened as she turned her attentions back to Jack, a soft smile graced her lips and her tone lowered, "Now, are you sure that's what happened, Jack. You can tell me you know."

Blue eyes met blue, and somehow, Evelyn understood what happened, despite Jack's small nod.

"Alright then." She turned towards the James duo, "You two are welcomed to stay for dinner."

Mark responded by throwing his sister over his shoulder, "No thanks Evelyn, we gotta get home. There's some soon to be outdated pizza that if we don't eat now, we ain't ever gonna be able to and it's calling our names."

Anna waved, "Bye Miss Evelyn, I finished that book you loaned to me, I'll come by later to return it." She smiled, her green eyes focussing in on _him_, "Bye Jack."

Okay, so maybe _all_ girls weren't bitches.

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Let me know what you think of the James family, more to be revealed. Hopefully, Anna isn't Mary Sue!! Review!


	2. Chapter 2

So this chapter follows the friendship between the James kid and the Mercer kid. Also, gives more off about who Anna James really is :) Hope you like it!

Disclaimer: I do not own Four Brothers, even though I dream that I do

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Chapter Two

Anna James was tiny, Jack decided. She had a tiny face, tiny hands, tiny fingers, tiny legs, tiny feet, freaking tiny everything.

But despite this tinyness, everywhere Jack looked Anna James was the only thing he saw.

Ever since that day four months ago, Anna James did not leave Jack -now Mercer's- side. Whether it was them driving to school together in Mark's beat up Chevy Impala, or doing homework together at Evelyn's kitchen table, Anna was there with Jack.

In the beginning, there were few words spoken between the two. Anna would just read a book or write in that journal of her's while Jack stared off into space, fiddling with his jacket. Jack knew what was going on, he had heard Evelyn Mercer whisper to Anna, as he stood stock still at the top of the staircase. Evelyn had whispered the order to look after Jack to Anna. He watched Anna's unruly curls bounce as she agreed, his anger rising.

So, as punishment Jack made it as difficult as he could for the girl next door. He stayed silent, gave no sign thatheeven saw her sitting, standing, _fucking_ watching him with those green, curious eyes.

Jack Mercer would make Anna's _order_ as difficult as possible.

He thought sometimes that it might have hurt her feelings, especially when she would ask something so personal and he would only nod stiffly in reply and her bright green eyes would lose some of their light. He would almost think he hurt her when her usually soft face fell, but then he would remember that it was just out of this girl's affection for his foster mom that she stayed with him.

She probably saw him as the too skinny, too pale, too freakin' _orphaned _new boy too, just like the others saw him to be.

So, he sat in silence and she did too. And for a whole silent month, that's what the two did.

Until one night, when he realized Anna might not have been such a_ Princess_ after all.

It was around midnight, a regular Saturday night that he spent talking with Evelyn, watching television until he got tired and crawled to bed.

He was nearly asleep when he heard the rustling outside the window.

Branches from the gigantic tree outside the window shook, shadows played across the room.

It was a scene from one of those bad $4 horror movies, but it was still scary as hell.

The shadows grew sharper, and Jack came to the realization that there was definitely someone outside his window, trying to get in.

Instead of running to Bobby, or Angel or even Jerry he got up and grabbed a leftover hockey stick from the corner, that he assumed was Bobby's and took a strategic place next to the window ready to hit the intruder.

The window easily slid open, but the flash of blonde hair and the too tiny stature distracted him - once again - from his original macho plan.

It was Anna James?

What the fuck was Anna James doing crawling through his window at midnight?

Her hand stifled her scream at the sight of Jack Mercer yielding a hockey stick. He dropped it to the floor and before he could do anything else, he heard his mother yell from downstairs, "Jackie, sweetie, is anything wrong?"

Anna shook her head wildly, her eyes begging him not to say anything to Evelyn.

"No! Just tripped up, that's all."

Silence.

"Why," Jack started, then lowered his voice, "did you just crawl through _my_ window?"

Anna was biting on her lip, Jack thought that it was about to bleed.

"I-I didn't think this was your room," the girl whispered, eyes wide, "it use to be empty. I just didn't think about it."

Jack looked at her, shocked.

"But, _why _did you need to climb a tree to get out of _your _house to get _here?_"

Her room was straight across from his, the tree the only middle ground. No Man's Land, was what Anna would call it in the future.

"Mark was angry, he gets like that sometimes. Yelling, throwing stuff, he's on the phone with some guy for the last hour, screaming his head off." She was staring at the ground, "And I was tired and I couldn't get to sleep."

Jack dropped the hockey stick and took a step closer. "So, you came here?"

Anna's head shot up, looked at him in the eye and whispered once again, "I've been doing it for a long time. I don't think Evelyn suspects anything because if she did, I think Mark would have gotten speeched." She paused, "I just had to get away, you know?"

Jack Mercer knew a thing or two about getting away.

A thought came to him then, did Mark hit Anna? It didn't seem like it, Anna was a pretty happy kid, she was all _light _and stuff. And Mark seemed to genuinely love his little sister, even though Evelyn had to remind Mark to feed said sister every once in a while.

But then again, appearances didn't always tell the truth.

_Fuck_, it sounded like he _cared_.

Well, he didn't.

He thought back to two weeks ago, when he actually asked Anna a question. He had grown frustrated with just the noise of her scribbling in the goddamn book, and without thinking about it he had asked her a _personal_ question, "What is that thing anyways?"

Anna had looked up at him, eyes wide, disbelief written across her almost sweet face, and then her small mouth broke out into a smile too big for her face, "I- I write stories," She rushed out, excitement bubbling, "Just little things that come to my mind." She took in his shock, it wasn't exactly something he had been expecting after all. Anna's smile turned bashful, and she look down into the old, battered journal, "I like it."

Jack just wrinkled his nose and asked why.

She looked at him then, strong green to tired blue, "Because sometimes my stories are better than real life."

So, _did_ Mark hit Anna?

Jack took yet another step closer, and tried to think what his mother- no, Evelyn! She was Evelyn, not his mother. His mother was dead, Evelyn was downstairs.

What would Evelyn do in this situation?

Harder said then done though, because Evelyn was a saint. Jack was just some good for nothing kid.

His eyes found a particularly interesting spot on the ceiling and fixated on that as he spoke, his 11 year old voice shaking with _something_, "Was he angry at you?"

Anna quickly stood up from her sitting position, her head shaking, it seemed as though she had caught on to his real question, "No, Mark doesn't get" She paused, sent him on of those significant looks of hers, "_angry_ at me."

Anger, so that's what she was calling what happened to Jack, what happened to the rest of the Mercers.

"He's just angry. Angry at the world, angry at his job, at the lack of money. Most of he's angry at himself. And my parents."

That was the first time there was any mention of Anna's and Mark's parents. He never really concerned himself with it, none of the Mercers spoke about it, and Anna sure as hell never brought it up to _him_.

Why would she?

Anna's face was tight, and there was something that changed about her that Jack couldn't put his finger on.

He sat down on the bed, still refusing to meet the blonde's eyes, "Where are they?" he asked with a carefree, breezy tone.

She didn't speak for a long time, Jack assumed that she was just so shocked because he had spoken more in the last 3 minutes then he spoke for the entire month they had known each other.

Her silence was frustrating him, he was about to- "My dad died in a car accident when I was five years old." She took a breath, struggled for a minute then, "And I don't have a mother."

But she had a brother. Who cared about her more then he cared about himself most of the time, and she had a house for her 11 years of life. Jack didn't, and here she was complaining? Close to tears? Crawling through another house's windows to escape some_ yelling_.

Jack had no one. Jack didn't have a family, didn't have a home. Jack didn't just have noise in his past.

Jack had bruises, Jack had blood, Jack had broken bones, Jack had no food for fucking weeks. Jack had grimy hands touching him in places little boys shouldn't have been touched.

So he turned to her then, his face and eyes cold and unforgiving "Yeah, well we all have our sob stories, _Princess_. Go_ cry_ to someone else. I have _no one_."

Her jaw dropped, then she put it back into place, and her lip fuckin' _trembled_. Then there was a fierce look on her face that Jack hadn't seen since that first day.

"You do have people!" Anna muttered angrily, her words had a force behind them that gave them a sense that they needed to be heard, that the words were desperate to be heard, "You have Evelyn, you have Bobby, and Angel and Jerry." She whispered, these words so inaudible that Jack imagined he had heard them until years later, "You have me."

Her voice rose again, "But you won't take your head out of your ass long enough to see it! You won't talk Jack, you won't care about any of it." She didn't stop there, "That's what makes your story the saddest of all."

He stared at her then, shocked that someone would have the guts to say these things to him. For the last month all of the Mercers, including the usually brash and bold Bobby and Angel had walked on eggshells around him the sullen and too skinny boy.

But now, this midget girl with her too bright blonde hair and too curious green eyes was freakin' attacking him and his behaviour.

She looked at him then, eyes wide and earnest, "You know, there's people out there Jack, people like Evelyn, that genuinely care about others. That actually want and need to help." She paused, not once breaking eye contact, "And they aren't going to hurt you."

The room was filled with silence, faintly sounds of one of the other boys snoring could be heard in the distance.

After a few moments, Anna walked closer to the window, looked across to her house and then whipped around to Jack, "But what do I know? I should go and - and_ cry_ to someone else, I suppose."

Two of her tiny legs where out the window before she was stopped.

"Wait."

_Goddamn._

"You're going to church tomorrow, right? If Mo - Evelyn sees you falling asleep, she'll slap Mark in front of the preacher."

Anna's body twisted, and Jack could have sworn that her hair sparkled in the moon.

But he didn't, so it was okay.

"Close the window."

A pointed Evelyn-esque look "Please."

Grumble.

"_Please_."

Jack stomped over to his bed, while Anna lied down on the floor, thinking she had to somehow get to sleep in this chilly room with no blanket and only the hard and rather cold floor to comfort her.

Then, a pillow and blanket fell ungraciously on her body.

Giggle.

"_Thank-you_."

That night changed things for Jack and Anna. Jack tried to see Anna James as more than a Princess and more as someone who was well _there_.

She was honest with him, he respected that. She didn't yell at him for that first month when he pretty much made her life silent, he liked that.

Anna James was a fuckin' mystery that Jack Mercer was determined to discover.

At first, he told himself that he didn't care. That the hours that they spent just talking was just so he could get the answer to the equation. Then, he realized it was almost like a drug. That _Anna_ was like a drug.

After some very frustrated hours, he realized he actually liked the blonde girl. He _appreciated _her, something that he wasn't very use to.

He liked that way she smiled at him, the way her green eyes focussed in on him and not the other boys in his class. Even if they were smarter, nicer, and better at sports than him. He even liked her laugh, how it was carefree.

He couldn't even _remember_ the last time he really laughed.

Months was spent analysing all of this, four to be exact. He realized that Evelyn couldn't have been the whole reason why Anna stayed around him. She may have been a major part but some part of Anna liked Jack too, and that made him excited.

Of course, he never told her any of this. He was Jack Mercer for Christsakes, he still had his dignity after all.

He also never told her that she helped him. That her speech to him that night made an impact. For the rest of his life, he didn't want to be the lost lonely boy without a family.

He wanted one, and he found it in the Mercers.

So he wasn't quiet anymore, at least not around his family (a new, once foreign concept), he genuinely tried to smile a little bit more, he told Evelyn some things he thought he never would, once he even cried in front of her (more like sobbing really). He even ask her to teach him how to cook, just to spend some extra time with her.

He called the Mercers his family.

Because really they were. Now.

So after four months, one of them silent, one full of curiosity, the other full of frustration and finally, the last month the best one yet. The last month, the fourth month, was composed of hesitant smiles and shaky laughs, of new discoveries.

The last month was full of _life_.

Okay, so yeah Jack Mercer gave a damn, he cared.

But what are you gonna do about it?

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I hoped you liked it! I tried to update as soon as possible. A big thank you goes out to my reviewers!

Ghostwriter: Thanks so much! Hope you liked this chapter!

OhxNo Its Zo: Haha! I liked that line too! It was very Bobby Mercer.

Tearsxsolitude: Why thank you, that's a big compliment from you. I adore your Jack Mercer stories!


	3. Chapter 3

Thank you all so much for your reviews, alerts, and putting me on your favourite lists! You have no idea how much that means to me :) Yayness all around! Hahaha!

But back to business! This chapter provides a back story on Anna and her brother Mark from Evelyn's point of view, I know you're all hoping for some Jack and Anna goodness but this is really essential for who Anna is and her relationship with Jack. Don't worry, you'll get much more Jack-Anna interaction in the next chapter!

Disclaimer: No matter how much I might wish, I do not own Four Brothers, not even half of one.

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Chapter Three

Evelyn Mercer had known Anna James since the 14 year old was a baby, Evelyn Mercer had seen Anna James every day for 5,125 days. Anna was just a fact of Evelyn's life, just as Mark was.

The silver haired woman could clearly remember the day she had first met the James family. She had just worked a 12 hour shift down at the centre. A little girl by the name of Taylor Jones had come across her desk a week before, Taylor was 6 years old and a new orphan. Evelyn had done her best to place her in a safe and warm home, but the bosses upstairs had been pushing for a quick placement. So, instead of analysing the family completely before placing the young, scared child into a home, she was forced to place the little Jones girl into _any_ home.

The nonchalance of the foster parents had irritated her as she dropped off little Taylor to the Nash household. The 4 other children running around the chaotic home irritated her too. What irritated her the most however, was how Mr. Nash constantly glanced toward the television set like it was the most important thing in the white, picket fenced home. More important than the quivering girl who clung to Evelyn's pant leg with wide, terrified deep brown eyes.

Evelyn, a usually calm and collected woman, was irritated for the entire week. And on that same day that she discovered the James family in the yard next door, she discovered the report file that little Taylor Jones had died in a hit and run the night before. Little Taylor had gone looking for her house, hoping to find her parents late one night. Mrs. Nash claimed that she had noticed no change in the youngster for her very short stay with them, that there was no signs of discomfort or sadness. In his report, Mr. Nash had mistaken little Taylor Jones, with her skin as black as midnight, for a pale, dark haired girl whose name was really Tia.

That midnight skin was gaunt in the pictures.

Evelyn vomited for 30 minutes.

Her boss, the same boss that rushed such an essential process, was so _thoughtful_ and _kind_ to give Evelyn the rest of the day off.

So, she walked home. Her hair dishevelled, eyes as cold as stone, and her feet sore. All with the bone-chilling November air blowing around her.

Her key was in the lock by the time she heard the light giggle of innocence. Her head turned, eyes searching. There wasn't any children that lived near her was there? Then, she noticed the moving truck parked on the side of the road.

New next door neighbours.

Her key stayed in the lock for a very long time and her eyes stayed locked to her worn door as she tried to make the decision whether or not to go over and introduce herself. It was the right thing to do, she understood that but she wasn't in the best of moods at the moment. Finally, after a great debate, the key left the lock and her feet crossed the path to the neighbouring home.

She passed a few burly moving men and an older truck driver that gave a lecherous look that she did not at all appreciate before she got to the door. She knocked, as she tried to place a genuine smile on her face.

The smile did in fact turn genuine, when the door was answered by a boy no older than 13 years old with wide blue eyes and a tangle of blonde hair.

"Hello, you must be my new neighbour. My name is Evelyn Mercer, I live next door." Evelyn smiled at the boy.

The face broke into a lopsided grin and a light southern accent came out, "Hello Evelyn, my name's Mark."

Evelyn looked up as a heavily pregnant woman bounded around the corner, "Mark!" She scolded, her words almost dripping with regret, "Your father and I told you not to answer the door without us, this ain't Georgia anymore darlin'"

The woman was beautiful, with tight blonde curls that closely resembled her son and bright, emerald green eyes. Evelyn thought that she was too skinny for a pregnant woman, her elegant collar bones poked out from her light blue shirt and her high cheekbones pronounced on her pale face.

Was the pregnancy not treating her good?

Her beauty seemed a little bit diminished almost, but Evelyn could picture her glowing and much more happy and much more beautiful than she was now.

Evelyn smiled tightly at her, "I'm sorry, dear. But I can't blame you for your precautions, this is Detroit after all."

The woman's eyes darkened, and for a second Evelyn say a flash of utmost sadness and discomfort.

This woman's face read like a book. She wasn't happy with this _Detroit situation _at all.

But she quickly hid up these emotions like it was a secret, "I'm sorry I was so rude, my apologies M'am. We just moved in and at the moment things are a bit...chaotic." With the hand that wasn't resting on her son's shoulder, she rubbed her swollen pregnant stomach.

"It's quite okay, dear. My name is Evelyn, Evelyn Mercer. I live right next door, I was just telling your handsome son Mark here." She said, with a quick wink down at the grinning pre-teen.

Mark grinned back then looked up at this mother, "Can I go up to my new room now?"

The mother, who Evelyn still did not know the name of, looked up at Evelyn with a look akin to requesting confirmation. Evelyn, after a moment of confusion nodded, and the blonde woman sent her son on his way up the staircase.

Mark's mother bit her lip as she said, "My name is Mary James, my husband is Michael, I'm sorry I didn't introduce myself before."

Mary paused for a moment, her eyes looked around almost wildly as if searching for a normal everyday topic of conversation, finally they settled again, "Have you lived around here long?" She asked in a quiet kind of voice.

Evelyn nodded yes, purposely making sure her eyes were reassuring and soft, "Yes I have. Detroit's my home, I love it here. I mean, I'm not denying its got it's jagged edges and it's problems, but the people here are worth it I find." The woman looked unsure so Evelyn added, "If you fight, you'll see the beauty."

Mary glanced up at her then through her dark thick lashes, "I've never been much of a fighter."

It was then that Evelyn discovered that Mary James wasn't as beautiful as she appeared.

But she was most definitely broken.

For the next month Evelyn made it her mission to figure out what exactly made the woman next door so sad, so broken.

Mary wasn't a victim of martial abuse, she knew that from the softness that her husband Michael looked at her with, the worry and uncertainty etched in his eyes told Evelyn that he wasn't the problem. Mark, their son, was a kind boy that caused no more problems that a usual 13 year old boy would. There was no problems with the baby either as Mary's pregnancy was coming along nicely, her due date for late January.

Evelyn was stumped, but she knew there was more to the picture than what Mary or Michael was letting on.

But no matter, Evelyn was truly intrigued by the James family. She spent most of her evenings over there, wrapped up in the complex puzzle that was the ideal perfect family. And it seemed as though Mary had grown fond, or as fond as Mary could be, of Evelyn. As she spent some of her time over to the older woman's home, providing company and words to fill silence.

That all changed when the baby was born. Anna Georgia James was born on New Year's Eve, December 31st 5 minutes before midnight. Michael was away at a business celebration that Mary had refused to attend. She opted to spend the evening with Evelyn and Mark instead.

Evelyn has been with her when she went into labour. She had thrown Mark in the backseat of her car, and had helped Mary sit herself gently into the front. She made it to the hospital in record time.

An hour into the contractions Michael had arrived, a bright happy smile on his face. He had kissed Mark, and planted one on Evelyn in his happiness as he rushed inside the room.

She heard Mary's sobbings through the wall, and the nurse trying to convince Mary to hold off for a couple of more minutes and give her baby the title of the New Year Baby. But Mary had screamed brokenly, desperation dripping from her words, "No! No! Get it out! Get it out, right now! I don't want it anymore! Please!"

Michael had dropped whatever it was he was holding he hissed Mary's name, Evelyn could picture his once cheerful face dropping in shock. In her arms, Mark stiffened and began to cry.

Minutes later, the cry of a newborn was heard. Anna James had entered the world.

Hours later, the James family was gathered in the tiny, squat hospital room. Michael had seemed to have forgotten Mary's exclamation earlier or had merely chalked it up to labour pains. While Mark was enthralled with the baby, his blue eyes transfixed on one of the tiniest things he'd ever saw.

After Evelyn admired the beauty of the baby, and beautiful she was, to the proud parents, Michael brought Mark to get something to drink and the baby was brought down to the nursery. An unmistakable uncomfortable silence filled the small room which Evelyn decided to break. She leaned in close to Mary, who had her tired head rested sideways on the pillow, her dampen curls spread around her as she stared at the closest wall, "Are you happy?" Evelyn whispered, enclosing Mary's hand with her own.

Mary looked up at her then, with a funny kind of smile that looked borderline sardonic, "Why wouldn't I be?"

Evelyn hadn't said anything to that, or when they brought home Anna and Mary looked less than enthused about the whole thing, or how Mark was neglected by his mother the days following the return home.

But Evelyn had whispered words of encouragement and strength to Michael when Mary had left him and his two young children.

Mary James left 4 days after the birth of sweet Anna, and brought a piece of each James member's heart with her.

Evelyn never forgave her.

But she did love her children for her. She did force Michael to wake up and deal as best as he could. She did cook for the family as much as she did, she did bathe Anna and help Mark with his homework. She did rock Anna as she cried, soothed Mark, and gave Michael as much help as she could.

It still wasn't enough but it was _something_.

Evelyn Mercer watched as Anna grew up, as she transformed into a infant, to a curious and giggling toddler to a young, playful and bright child to a charming and very pretty teenager.

And the once little Mark turned into a strong shouldered young man, who despite adoring his little sister, began to rebel daily against his father and the world as Detroit took his toll on him.

Evelyn even watched as Mark and Anna were forced to deal with the unexpected, gut wrenching loss of their father. Michael had died at the hand of a drunk driver, when Anna was 5 and Mark was 18 years old. When Mary left, it seemed as though the James family couldn't have experienced anymore pain, heartache or grief but they were wrong. Losing Michael changed everything for them.

Mark had to fight the system for custody of Anna, with only Evelyn on his side. After long, tiring grief ridden weeks, they won the first battle. Poor Mark had to drop out of community college in order to provide for his baby sister. He refused handouts from anyone, and after a while refused them from Evelyn too. But the one thing that Evelyn was successful in was keeping the two remaining members of the family that she loved next door.

Through Mark and Anna, Evelyn realized how much she loved filling the mother role, and when a tough boy named Bobby came across her doorstep, she couldn't say no. She also couldn't say no to her Jeremiah, or Angel, or her Jackie.

Mark, Anna, Bobby, Jerry, Angel and Jack were all so broken. Some of them in different ways, some of them more than the others but in someway they were broken, broken and beautiful.

Anna, with her golden curls and her bright green eyes, looked like any other 14 year old girl. It was only when you looked close enough, you could see the broken little pieces.

If you looked close enough you would see how she tried so hard to be strong for her big brother, how she tried to be the perfect, always smiling little girl that would make him more happy and carefree and how she tried to be no fuss.

In all of her years, Evelyn never heard her say to Mark, "I want this" or "I need this" or "I'm hungry." She never heard Anna complain of the second hand clothes, or the less than desirable dinners, or how they had no luxuries in their life.

And Anna would never tell you that she wanted other things than Detroit for her life, or how she cried at night for her father and the understanding why she didn't have a mother. Evelyn wouldn't even know those things if it weren't for hearing the soft cries from Anna's bedroom window.

Anna didn't like telling people those things, afraid that they would see her as selfish, or greedy, or just a bad person.

But she told Jack. Something that always amazed Evelyn.

When she took in that too skinny, too frightened boy who had been through so much in his short life, the last thing that she could have imagined was Anna taking such an immense liking to the boy.

That first day, when Jack returned to the Mercer home, blood dripping from him and such a scared look in his eyes, Evelyn watched Anna watch Jack. Interest sparkled in the green eyes along with true amazement.

It seemed as though little broken Anna found something worthwhile in little broken Jack.

She watched as Anna covered for Jack, and as Jack's eyes found Anna's. Confusion had littered in the ocean blues with a underlying strong emotion that Evelyn could not decipher.

It was the strongest thing that Evelyn had seen from her new son.

From that day, Anna attached herself to Jack side, even though Evelyn knew that Jack, with his silence and brooding, wasn't that happy about it. But that didn't seem to have dampened Anna's interest in her new friend, if anything, it only added to it.

But finally, months of Anna's attempts seemed to have paid off. And the bright smiles and the sparkling eyes from the girl next door took an effect on her sweet Jackie boy.

He seemed lighter, happier and that was something Evelyn would be eternally grateful for.

Evelyn liked to think that somehow, their broken pieces matched, but that could have been her wishful thinking.

But, as she watched through her window as Anna and Jack washed Mark's most prized possession on the Detroit street and how Anna striked a silly, over the top pose on the hood and how Jack playfully put a beard on Anna's face with the suds on his sponge and how the two cracked up in stomach clutching laughter......

Evelyn begun to think that _maybe_, it wasn't just her wishful thinking after all.

* * *

Please, review! I'll hold chapter four hostage if you don't!

Writingnonstop: Thank you! I'm glad you like it! I really don't like weak OC's, and something had to wake Jackie up ;) I hope you liked this chapter, even though it was Evelyn-centred!

Ghostwriter: Again, glad you like them! I really appreciate the reviews, it means so much! It encourages me to update sooner!

Amroberts17: Thank you! I hope you liked this chapter, let me know! Hope the update was quick enough too :)


	4. Chapter 4

A/N

Sorry for the late update! I had loads of homework this weekend & week!! Okay, so I completely planned for this chapter to be much, much longer with loads more drama and Anna and Jack-ness, but then once I started writing it, I decided it would be way too much. But, you can defintely expect a drama filled Chapter 5. Also, expect an update soon! Chapter is already wrote in my head.

Disclaimer: No matter how much I pray, Four Brothers will never be mine.

* * *

Chapter Four

_It was funny how things didn't fit anymore, _fifteen year old Jack Mercer amusedly mused to himself as he stared at his feet hanging off the bottom of his too small bed.

The battered light next to the too small bed blinked a red 1:00 am and, despite it being a school night, Jack was still wide awake.

The source of his insomnia? The infamous enigma that was the girl next door, Anna James.

He could hear the frustrated tones through the window, and if he looked out he would have a clear, perfect view of Anna's messy bedroom where Anna and her brother were arguing.

Just then, he heard the bedroom door slam shut in anger and Anna's exasperated cry of, "Mark!"

Jack, with a grin on his face, silently counted to ten. When he reached the last number, a small girl with a shiny mess of curls, that were more gold and copper than blonde, tumbled through the window with a loud grumble, a hit to the forehead and a frustrated "Dammnit."

Jack opened his mouth, ready to ask what happened and to tease her about her less than graceful entrance. But before he could get the words out, Annie snapped at him with an "I don't want to talk about it, okay?"

Jack didn't have to respond, he just had to give her time for this almost too cute pissed off attitude to go away. So he settled for taking amusement in the tense and stiff lines in her body. It wasn't often that Annie got angry, but when she did- well- she got _angry._ And it was very, very fun to watch.

The lines softened for a moment when she noticed the already laid out pillow and blanket on the floor. _Her _pillow and blanket on the floor.

She turned to him then, some sparkle back in her green eyes already and her now softened mouth quirked up on one side, "You put out my pillow and blanket for me?" She asked in a quiet kind of voice.

Jack nodded silently, mute by the sight of Annie's smile and the look in her eyes.

The golden haired girl bowed her head, the smile still on her face as she murmured a soft thank-you. After a silent moment in Jack's room, Annie turned her back to him as she clumsily tugged off her worn sneakers and tossed them to a messy corner of Jack's room.

Jack moved his legs as Anna made herself comfortable at the foot of his bed with a large sigh. Jack just stared at her as he made a quiet, simple beat with the drumming of his fingers on her calf.

"You know," Annie started, her voice still quiet and small, "when most people tell their family they want to go to university, the family is proud."

She stopped talking, but Jack didn't stop the drumming. Instead he just waited. After 3 years as best friends they were familiar when the other just needed silence.

Words weren't always necessary when it came Jack Mercer and Anna James.

Anna took comfort in the familiar and easy solitude that Jack offered graciously, "But not the James family, not my family." Her eyes hardened, "Instead, the Jameses throw things, the Jameses yell and rant and roar."

Sigh. Click of the tongue. Pretty bottom lip being chewed on without mercy.

"You want a cigarette or somethin'?"

Raise of the eyebrows. The Look. Then, finally...the long anticipated giggle.

"You're disgusting." Anna said with a smile, a _true_ smile, as she kicked his leg off the bed, "And you have gross, inky black lungs."

Jack smiled at her, lazily, as he reached for his hidden stash of cigarettes underneath the mattress. He offered her one with wiggling eyebrows, even though he knew she was going to refuse just like she did everyday for the past 6 months (it wasn't as though he was actually going to give it to her if she said yes anyways, but it was always fun to see her expressions).

As soon as he lit the tip, she started, "You do realize they give you cancer right? You are fifteen years old Jack, or have you forgotten? If Evelyn ever found out, do you realize what she would do? Do you-"

She was cut off by Jack's hand that was firmly planted on her mouth. Her eyes rolled, and her leg kicked his as she crossed her arms over her chest. When he removed his hand from her mouth, Annie slid off the bed and onto the floor.

Anna attempted to make herself comfortable on the floor, her back turned to him. After a couple of minutes, when Jack finished his cigarette and was sure Anna was asleep, the little blonde thing made a noise of discomfort.

"You okay?"

"I'm fine, Jackie. Go to sleep."

Another minute passed. So did another grumble.

Jack realized the floor was uncomfortable. It was cold and stony and probably a bit messy too. But this is what they did, he'd lie down in the bed until Annie came in through the window in a fit of discomfort or anger or sadness or even, sometimes, bitterness. And after the silence did the trick and Anna started to feel okay, he'd crack a joke and then they'd go to bed. Annie on the floor, and Jack on the bed.

He'd never actually thought about it before, why would Annie sleep on the bed with him? Or _in _the bed with him?

Well, for one; he wasn't exactly a touchy feely kinda guy.

With anyone.

Not even his Ma.

The kind of touches he was exposed to as a kid weren't gentle or kind or loving. Even though the sick freaks who did them thought them to be.

So he didn't voluntarily hug people- except Evelyn a couple of times or when Annie hugged him in a fit of happiness or excitement.

And the kind of girls who he had "hooked up" (and that term was used very loosely) made sure that he didn't want to hold hands or pollock through fields or any of that kind of shit.

He liked his distance. He liked his little cage of isolation and of aloneness.

It was impenetrable. It was safe.

But Jack realized now, that his cage wasn't as lonely as he had hoped.

Anna had been making her way through- his Ma too, in her own way.

Kind, sweet, patient Evelyn who showed Jack what a family actually was. What patience and kindness and what goodness was.

But it was Anna- Anna with her quirky smiles and her green eyes, and her - _her feelings_.

With her happiness and stubbornness, and her tired old journal. With her stories and her scribbles and how she squeezed his hand when he was being a jerk. It was the sight of her sitting at the counter, her legs swinging eating cereal at 4 in the day.

With her too fragile body and her too big personality.

It was Anna, his Annie, that broke through the cage.

Turned the world lopsided, just like her smile.

So, really she wasn't like the others. She wasn't going to hurt him or take that power from him that was took countless of other times.

With Anna, he could touch and be touched.

He reached down and quickly plucked the blanket off her small body. She rolled over and stared at him, one eyebrow raised in a very expression.

"What are ya doing?"

"Shit Annie, the floor is going fuck your back up. You want to go to university humpbacked or somethin'?"

She didn't crack a smile at the joke, she just stared at him. She knew what had happened in the past.

He didn't tell her, but she knew anyways.

There was this one night, back in the day when he woke up panting and sweating and panicked. Anna was standing over him, worry and concern and pain and _understanding_ etched on her face...it was like she was feeling everything he felt.

She never mentioned it to him again, it always just kinda hung there between them.

So the blank face she was giving him now, grated on his nerves.

And if he was man enough to admit it he'd say he was panicked too. But he wasn't man enough, so he never.

He scowled at her then (no doubt, his lip was curled is disdain too), "You could just say no. Don't have to stare at me like some goddamn-"

He didn't get to finish the sentence, because she was already rising- slowly, but she was rising.

Despite the huge difference in their sizes - Anna was only 5'2" while Jack was 6'0" ft now - they fit together surprisingly well.

They were unsure first, not knowing what was within their best friend code and what wasn't. But they didn't have a whole lotta room on Jack's bed anyways because of it's size.

They ended up face to face, one of Anna's legs were very close to being intertwined with his, while her forehead rested closely on his shoulder.

These feelings were new to Jack. The feeling that came from the skin to skin contact with Anna. From feeling how utterly _soft_ she was. And silky and smooth. How her golden curls were resting on his shoulder and tickling his skin. How Anna smelled like almonds and vanilla and sunshine.

"Something's wrong. I can feel it." Jack didn't understand, was his breath bad? Was his body uncomfortable?

But when he got a good look into her eyes, he understood that she wasn't talking about him.

There were tears in her eyes that she stubbornly refused to let fall. Her mouth was once again hard and stiff. Her dainty little hands that rested between them were stilled.

Jacked moved his head closer to hers, their noses almost touching now. Annie refused to look into his eyes, instead she stared at her fingers on his bed.

"Mark, there's something not right." Her voice was quiet again like it had been when she first entered his room, "He's up to something, and it's not good. There's people coming at our house at weird times, _weird _people." She whispered, "_Bad people_."

Jack had noticed too. He had noticed the new flow of people travelling into the James home, noticed Bobby and Mark whispering, disappearing at funny times. And not the "Hahaha" type of funny, it was more like the "Oh God, what are they up to now? _Fuck_."

He had also noticed Mark skiving off some of his shifts at the garage and the new cash flow him and Bobby had.

Yeah, something was definitely wrong.

Instead of saying all of this though, Jack just moved his calloused hands onto Annie's hip and moved her closer.

She was his best friend, he _couldn't_ say those things.

Not to _her_, not _now_.

But it didn't matter how close he drew her, because when he woke up the next morning, she was gone once again.

The open window was the only sign of her travel back over to the other side of the war zone.

* * *

Hope you liked it! I've started answering all my reviews in PM's now. It's just easier ;) Remember; reviews are crack!


	5. Chapter 5

A/N Thank you all so much for the reviews and for adding me to your favourite and alert lists! It means so much to me :) As a result, I started working on this chapter much sooner than I anticipated! This chapter takes place 2 months after chapter four and the month is January. Hope you enjoy it

Disclaimer: Yes, of course I own Four Brothers. Now, to make this disclaimer truthful just switch around Yes to No and put a "don't" between I and Own.

* * *

Chapter Five

Jack lazily walked out of the classroom as the dismissal bell rang above him. It was just another boring as fuck day in this hell hole of a school that he was forced to endure. As he made his way to his scratched up and graffited locker, he tried to concentrate on better things. For one, songs he could now learn with the new chords he picked up on in music class (one of the less painful classes offered) and secondly, how much he could get on Bobby's nerves with-

Why the fuck was Annie talking to _Luke dickwad Simmons_?

There she was, the girl with the golden, brassy curls and laughing green eyes decked out with her usual attire; faded jeans, simple and t-shirt, her various array of bright colourful bracelets and ratty old sneakers. But the thing that wasn't so normal and usual about the picture was Simmons, Simmons with his bright and bleached perfect blonde hair and his perfect chocolate brown eyes and his well- his fucking perfect _everything_.

Simmons was the kind of guy that made him sick. The all-star jock that all the girls and teachers adored, who probably didn't know who the fuck Nirvana was and thought Kurt Cobain was some kid down the street. His main concern was how many fucking goals he got in basketball or whatever fucked up sport that got him the most shiny medals. Simmons was the kid whose lawyer of a daddy and housewife pearl wearing mommy showed him off with pride, the half-assed Zack Morris carbon copy without a Screech.

But what Jack really, really hated about the dickwad was the way he was looking at his best friend at the moment. Like she was some goddamn piece of fresh meat and her proper place was on his fucking steriod pumped up arm.

But what he hated the most was how Anna was looking up at the tall boy. Her body language, that Jack knew oh so well was comfortable, content even. Her eyes weren't dull with uncomfortableness or irritation. They were warm, welcoming, light.

Warm, welcoming and light towards Luke fuckin' Simmons.

What the _fuck_?

Anna didn't hang out with jocks, she wasn't exactly sleeping over at any cheerleader's houses and her second hand clothes didn't mesh well with the rich, popular kids. She may have _looked_ the part of the _princess_, but she fucking well never _acted_ the part.

When she didn't have her nose stuck in her journal or her books, she was with Jack and the other punks of the highschool. And the losers. The geeks.

The _undesirables_.

Jack was probably the only kid in the entire fuckin school that could tell you where Annie's house even_ was_ for Christsake.

But now, with her bright smile aimed at the King of the school, Annie looked like and acted like a goddamn princess.

Well, he was just going to have to change that, wasn't he?

He schooled his face into a perfect picture of nonchalance, turned up the neck of his leather jacket and placed a condescending smirk on his face .

As he approached the cozy duo, Luke's head shot up and his eyes widen at the sight of a Mercer kid approaching him and that, well that, just encouraged Jack more. It made him feel all powerful and warm inside.

Jack didn't return the stare though, instead he just focussed his eyes on the still talking James girl, and looped his arm around her tiny waist

He had a firm hold on the tiny, fragile girl as he pulled her impossibly close to him and begin to walk away from the infamous dickwad.

Annie was too shocked to even begin to protest, and before she could even begin the Simmons kid, who was grating on his last nerve and seemed incapable of understanding the concept of someone else's territory, stopped the neighbours.

"Hey! We were talking!" Luke said to him, seemingly annoyed.

Jack just looked at him, making sure his smirk oozed from his face and his arm hung off of Annie's shoulder like it belonged there, which it did, "Dream on, Greg Brady." He said, in a low, gravelly voice.

Annie made a noise of protest and said in a strangled kind of voice, "Jack!"

But Jack ignored her, and kept walking making sure that she was tucked under his arm.

Anna was his best friend. _His_. And she sure was no goddamn princess. Especially Simmons.

* * *

The walk home had been an uncomfortable one, with Annie hardly saying anything. But the only thing that mattered was that she walked the distance with Jack's arm around her waist.

Well it mattered to Jack anyways, and a part of him, a part that he wouldn't admit to, wanted it to matter to Annie too.

When they arrived at their respective homes, the tradition of going to the Mercer household and Anna plopping herself down at the table to start her homework while Jack attempted to make dinner was quickly killed when they met Bobby and Mark at the doorstep.

More specifically, a bruised Bobby and a black-eyed Mark.

Anna practically ran out of Jack's hold as she rushed to her brother's side, grabbing his face into her tiny, bird-like hands and she questioned him about what happened. Mark brushed off the questions as Bobby made some lame ass excuse about a bar fight the night before and a 20 year old Dolly Parton with a fucking gorilla as a boy toy.

Jack just stood in his spot, hands in his pocket as he took the scene in.

Mark batted Anna's hands away from his face and her insistent questions and instead, threw her over his shoulder and yelled out to the two Mercer brothers something about hiding from Evelyn and her scary stare.

Bobby and Jack stayed rooted to their respective spots, Bobby, with his eyebrows raised, stared at Jack with a smirk while Jack just stared at where Anna ran off to without so much as a wave.

"Somethin' up between you and Tink, fairy?"

Ah, fairy. The name that Bobby dubbed him with a couple of months into his friendship with Annie.

Annie told him once that Bobby had been calling her Tink, or Tinkerbell, since his arrival at the Mercer home. The first time she met him, a young and bruised tough kid with too many cuss words, she was sitting down at Evelyn's kitchen table reading _Peter Pan_.

Forced to make nice with the little blonde thing in pigtails by his new fostermom, Bobby had sat down awkwardly at the table and asked her about the book.

She had smiled at him, wide and bright, and explained the characters.

Well, needless to say, Bobby wasn't been much of a _Peter Pan _kinda guy.

He had teased her about her storybook. Called it stupid. Immature. _Fairy material_. Why would two chicks dig a fairy?

Little Anna James had surprised him though. Instead of running off and tattling to Evelyn or worse _crying_, she just sat there, her eyes cold as she stared at him. Then, she leaned closer to the tough boy across from her and in a voice that one would use to explain something to a kid who couldn't grasp a complex concept, she explained that "No, Peter _wasn't_ a _fairy_. Peter was a_ lost boy_. He wasn't _regular boy_, but he wasn't a_ fairy. Tinkerbell _was the fairy."

Bobby had just leaned back and propped his feet up onto the table. He looked at her a bit then laughed. He rocked the chair back, patted her head, and called her Tinkerbell.

Cause for one, she was short and scrawny as hell. And second, it really got on her nerves.

And then, when Jack came along and his friendship with Bobby's Tink started, Bobby had started calling Jack _fairy_. Peter was just gonna be confusing, Peter Pan was too long, and fairy was just fuckin' fun to the bold boy.

To say it annoyed Jack was an understatement. And it had pissed him off too. Especially, when Bobby made jokes about tights and some gay jokes about extracurricular activities with_ Lost Boys._

But well, that was Bobby.

"Yo! You gonna answer me, little brother?"

Jack rolled his eyes, hauled out his lighter and cigarette and just stomped into the house.

"None of your goddamn business, Bobby."

* * *

It was around 1:00 o'clock when Annie climbed through his window. They didn't talk for a long time. The two just sat there in the silence. This time, she was on the floor leaned against his wall while he was stretched across his bed, staring at the ceiling.

"So.."

"Yep."

"Are you mad at me?" Annie questioned him, her voice even and smooth.

Jack didn't answer right away_._

Was he mad at Anna? Not entirely.

At Simmons? Fuck yes.

"Not really."

"Well, why aren't you talking to me?"

"Why were you talking to _him_?"

Anna's eyes darked and she stood up on wobbly feet and made her way over to lean against the windowsill.

She rolled her now dark eyes as she said, "Funny, I thought I was allowed to talk to whoever I wanted to."

Jack sighed and rolled over on his side, "Of course you are. I'm not pissed." He was, she just didn't need to know that, "I just want to know _why_ you were talking to a punk like Simmons."

Anna tilted her head, "He's not a punk, Jack. He's pretty cool. I've been talking to him since September, he's a part of my World Lit. class."

She was fuckin' talking to him since fuckin' September? What the fuck?

Anna must have read his expression because she answered the unasked question, "You've just been too busy to notice. Haven't been able to see anything past the Muffy's and Buffy's throwing themselves at you and your guitar."

That wasn't true, Jack wanted to argue. He wanted to yell at her that he always, always saw _her_.

But again, he never. Just sat up, and rested his elbows on his knees, his face blank with expression.

"So what do you two talk about? I didn't even know Simmons could_ read_."

"That's not very nice."

He wanted a reaction out of her, he wanted to see her angry, wanted to see her say or do something because he couldn't deal with this level tone she was using much longer.

So, he smirked a smirk that he knew she hated, it was the one he aimed at the Fluff at the highschool, with the authority figures in Detroit, "They're not exactly _our_ kinda people, sweetheart."

Her head shot up, "How exactly do know what _my kind _of people are, _sweetheart_?"

He loved her like this, honest to god. With her eyes firing and her sweet mouth expelling harsh words.

He never answered the question, though. Instead, he just shrugged cockily.

She stepped closer, and whispered something, "He asked me to the dance next week."

A beat.

"And I said yes."

.fuck?

Well, it seemed she wanted a reaction too. And she got it.

His fists were clenched because he really, really wanted to hit the wall right about now and his words dripping with absolute anger he hadn't felt in a real long time, he bit out, "You're not that girl, Annie."

Her face was cold and stony, just like her eyes. Fathomless bottoms of dark green. No light to be seen.

"Maybe," She said, her words had no emotion, "I want to be _that_ girl."

He didn't want her to _be_ that girl if it meant that Simmons had his fuckin' manicured, pansy hands on her the entire night.

"I _want_ to have the sparkly, shiny highschool experience, okay? I just don't want to read about it in books anymore. I want, for once, to be a normal girl. And if it means being _that _girl to have it, then I'll be that girl." She finished, "I am so sick of my life dictating _who I'm _suppose to be, isn't that up to _me_?"

"I get it now," Jack said, stepping into her personal space, "you want to be a Princess, is that it?' He reached out a grabbed a golden, perfect curl, and twirled it around his finger, "Want some Prince Charming to climb up the tower and save you from the _Big Bad _dragon?"

His chuckle was dark and bitter.

She hit his chest and sucked in a breath, "I believe in fairytales, okay? I like happily ever afters and the idea everything is going to turn out right in the end. After all that happened, I still believe. And if that makes me weak, then I guess I'm weak."

When he didn't say anything she turned around on the spot and slung a leg outside his still-opened window.

She straddled it for a second, then she said her voice quiet and low, "You should soon make up your mind Jack and choose, do you want to be the Big Bad dragon or do you want to be the Prince?"

Then, she left.

* * *

Okay, so I was going to combine the next chapter and this one, but I think I want to torture you a little bit longer. However, expect a quick update! The next chapter is going to be a doozey!

Please review!


	6. Chapter 6

A/N Again, thank you so much for the reviews, the hits, alerts, and favourites! This update took a little bit longer than expected. I had a little trouble with the Evelyn - Jack dialogue! Most of you mentioned how Jack reacted in the last chapter. My main reasoning for that is Jack's character and his relationship with Anna. Jack runs on emotions, purely. And Anna's is _his_ best friend, his first and pretty much _only_ friend. Also, he was a little bit out of his element with the whole situation. And besides, I like my guys a little bit totured!

Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chappie, and don't murder me because of the ending! I must do what's best for my story, after all!

Disclaimer: I do not own anything that has to do with Four Brothers, just Anna, Mark, Luke and a janitor by the name of Earl.

* * *

Chapter Six

They hadn't talked in four full days. It was the longest time Jack and Anna had ever gone without words since that night in his room years ago.

Instead of walking to school together in the mornings, Mark gave Anna a lift and if Bobby wasn't around to do the same for Jack or if Evelyn was busy, then Jack would be forced to walk.

Instead of leaning against Jack's locker before and in between classes, Jack made sure he arrived just as the bell rang while Anna spent the time reading her book against the closest wall.

Instead of spending recess and lunch together in their usual space (behind the bleachers on the football field), Anna wasted away in the library while Jack just smoked behind the school.

Instead of doing homework and cooking after school together, Anna went straight home while Jack just smoked some more.

Anna even had her curtains closed tightly so Jack couldn't see her through his window.

So now, Jack spent most of his time going over everything Anna said and as a result, driving himself more and more insane every passing say;

"_You've just been too busy to notice." _

"_I said yes."_

"_I want to be that girl."_

"_Do you want to be the Big Bad dragon or do you want to be the Prince?"_

She confused _him_, baffled_ him_. And that wasn't something he was use to, not anymore at least. Since he moved in with Evelyn, Jack became use to control. He became use to knowing where he was going to be in the morning, that the people in his life were going to be there when he woke up.

So, in short, Anna James was confusing the hell out of him and completely pissing him.

But Jack missed it.

Missed their friendship, missed her laughing green eyes and her quirky smile, her spontaneous hugs and giggles.

But he refused to be the one to apologise first.

To be the_ weak _one first.

In the background, Jack faintly heard someone yell his name but paid no mind to it.

"JACK!"

The next thing he knew, he was shoved out of the way by his mother.

"Where were you, Jackie?" Evelyn scolded, as she grabbed the spatula out of his hand to try and salvage the now black eggs that he was suppose to be looking after.

"Uh-" Jack stammered as he leaned against the kitchen wall, "I guess I just got distracted."

"You can say that again," Evelyn said as she gave up on the eggs and threw the frying pan into the sink, "Must have been something heavy that distracted you. Nothing light has ever put off two smoke alarms before."

_Shit_.

He quickly came up with an excuse, which he tried to deliver as believable and even as possible. "Just trying to work out a song in my head."

Apparently, he did a half-assed job.

Evelyn clicked her tongue, "This song have anything to do with the little blonde girl next door that has a black cloud hanging over your head almost all week?"

He sighed, then banged his head purposely and forcefully against the wall behind him, "No."

"It's not nice to tell lies, Jack Mercer. Especially to your mother."

Ah, the infamous Mercer card. Whenever Evelyn wanted to scold him, which surprisingly didn't occur that often, she pulled out the full name card. Jack guessed she thought it would remind him what a family meant, that Jack could talk to her about anything and everything, that she would support him no matter what.

And it worked every goddamn time.

His shoulders fell from their forced, stiff position and his hands began to run themselves through his messy, dark blonde hair.

"Yeah, I was thinking about Anna."

As per usual.

"Don't be vague with me, Jack Mercer."

"She's going to a dance with this Simmons guy, who's pretty much the _anti-us_. He's a jock who wouldn't know Dave Matthews from Cory Matthews. And when she told me-" He paused for a moment, basking in the air of contentment around him and his mother and how utterly comfortable he felt with her, "and when she told me, I got angry."

Evelyn leaned closer, eyes keen and seeing, "Why did you get angry, Jack?"

That was the millionaire question, wasn't it?

But he wasn't prepared to answer it. Not yet, anyways.

Evelyn realized, from his silence, that even if he _wanted_ to discuss it, which he didn't, he_ couldn't_.

He just wasn't ready.

"Did you say something to her, Jackie, when you were angry?"

Past tense.

Confusion, wonder and bafflement were the more popular emotions these past four days.

He nodded, not able to meet his mother's eye.

But Evelyn grabbed his chin, forcing them to meet, "I've known Ann a long time, Jack." She stated, in a soft kind of voice,"She's of the forgiving kind."

Her eyes were wide with sympathy and the desperate need to convey something.

"I mocked her, Ma." Jack began, in a scratchy voice, "I pretty much called her stupid and said she didn't deserve to be liked by the asshole, that she- she wasn't that kind of girl."

Evelyn didn't bother to tut at the use of "asshole" instead, she just grasped his hand once more in her much smaller one and stayed silent.

After a few moments full of thought, she began, "I'm not condoning what you did. You were out of line, completely. More importantly, you were wrong. Anna deserves the world."

What, he didn't know this already? He just didn't want that world to include Luke or any other fake, shiny thing known as the popular, asshole people.

She continued, "But, I know what you said, you didn't actually mean it. I know that sometimes you and Anna can bring the worst out in each other."

Evelyn stopped his cry of protest with a warning hand, "But _most_ of the time, you bring the best out too. I also know that Ann will forgive you, Jackie."

It was an idea that he didn't want to toy with too much in fear of rejection.

"How do you know that?"

His mother's eyes had the 'I know something" look, "I talked to her last night." She tried to play it off casually.

As Jack banged his head off the table, he released a groan.

"She called," Evelyn filled him in, much to Jack's surprise, "She-uh, she wanted help with her dress for the dance."

Ah yes, the dance.

The one Anna was going to with Luke.

Well, Jack wasn't much of a dance guy anyways.

But seriously, a dress? When the fuck did Anna ever even _own_ a dress?

"A dress? _Anna_?" Jack asked, shock in his hoarse voice.

Evelyn nodded in confirmation, "It's a formal dance, something she's not entirely happy with, mind you. But a young girl her age _should_ be wearing dresses. She can't be wearing those awful jeans the rest of her life, anyways. But she did look beautiful."

Jack tried his hardest not to picture her.

"But the thing is, Jack. Not matter how nervous Anna was about the dance, she was more nervous about you. About how you were doing."

She was? After he treated her like an asshole and a prick?

But, an inner voice of his reasoned, _Anna never told him about her 'friendship' with Luke. Never mentioned that they were talking since fucking September. And he was her _best friend_. He was Jack. What? That wasn't enough for her?_

Jack just stayed silent and decided not to comment on his mother's statement.

Evelyn rose up from her seat, humming an old tune from the 70's as she tried to make something for breakfast.

Then, in a voice of the utmost casualness but at the same time, commandant, she said, "After the dance tomorrow night, you'll go over there and apologise, Jackie, won't you? The poor thing has been living off of her _own_ book collection and Cheerio's, not sure how much more she can take."

Jack never replied.

* * *

He really, really hated television sometimes, Jack Mercer decided, as he attempted to find something half decent to watch. Nothin' but some bad local news and frickin' Jerry Springer.

He settled on an episode about lesbian midgets who liked getting pissed on. Didn't matter anyways, Bobby would soon plop his fat ass down on the couch and curse until he got the remote and Jack's head in a headlock.

And also, it didn't distract him from that goddamn dance.

Jack only went to one actual class today, which even for him, wasn't all that great. Instead of being forced to listen to girls babble on and on about the dance and what they were going to wear, and watch some of these girls make doe eyes at him while talking in too loud tones about their current date-less situationand being utterly tortured by the jocks going on and on about their likelihood of getting laid, Jack opted to skip.

It was much less painful that the highschoolers _and _for him.

He just hopped on some bus downtown and tried to figure out how the hell to get home for a couple of hours.

He did that sometimes, purposefully tried to lose himself just to see if he had the sense to find a way out.

"Maybe I'm a sadist or some shit," Jack pondered, out loud to the empty house.

Then, he heard a car door slam shut. Silently, Jack thanked god. He was waiting for the last hour for Bobby to return with the take-out. After a few minutes, when no door opened and no loud, accented voice announced the arrival of the big brother and food, Jack started to get worried.

He made his way over to the window, and opened the curtain.

It wasn't Bobby's car door at all instead, it was Luke Simmon's Daddy's shiny new jeep.

The immaculate, bright red thing looked too out of place in the streets of Detroit.

But Jack wasn't concerning himself with that. Instead, he was concerning himself with the way that Anna James was looking in her white dress.

The girl, who always had skinned and scabbed knobby knees and messy, intangible unbrushed curls, looked- well, the way she looked made Jack speechless.

Her hair, that was most definitely brushed, fell down her back in perfect, golden and shiny curls. Replacing her usual beat up sneakers were shiny, too high shoes that Anna stumbled in awkwardly but he hardly noticed because he was too busy staring at her dress.

It was this classic, white dress. The top, a halter with a corset, and the skirt of the dress was this long and flowy thing. On Anna's elegant back, that Jack never noticed before, was two, thin and delicate straps cris-crossed. And when she walked, she looked like she floated.

When Jack was six, he was placed in this real nasty foster home. The foster parents, Margaret and Charles, were religious fanatics. Everyday they prayed to God, they couldn't walk down the streets without lecturing people. Anything that wasn't Catholic was scum of the Earth, dirt in their eyes. Every night the father, Charles, held down Jack's head in the bathtub in an attempt to rid him of his sins and the evil within the scrawny child.

The sensation of drowning came back to him then, as he watched Anna climb into Luke's car and drive away.

He stood there, stock still for a long time.

Then, in the spur of the moment, Jack Mercer threw the remote across the room. With a "Fuck this," he marched out of the house, his leather jacket swinging in his arms as he stomped his way to the highschool dance.

* * *

Grabbing some random, half decent looking and unfortunately twittering girl, Jack casually walked into the cheaply decorated gymnasium of the highschool.

Despite the- was that goddamn toilet paper hanging from the ceiling?- and the piss poor lighting, Jack could make out Luke's and Anna's figures.

They were dancing in the centre of the gym, arms wrapped around each other as some lame ass music played in the background.

They looked like some dumbass kids out of a poor, overpaid highschool romance movie that him and Annie would spend the entire night mocking.

Ignoring the tightening in his chest, Jack stalked over to the two.

He ignored the look of shock on Annie's face.

He was too busy smashing in Luke Simmon's pretty face anyways.

* * *

He got in a few decent licks before they were broke up by the steroid lovin' gym teacher and the beefy janitor, Earl.

Jack and Simmons were forced to wait outside the Principal's office.

Annie was there too, but she refused to even glance his way. And funny enough, she sat between the two, arms crossed and silent.

But he comforted himself by the sight Simmon's bleeding and possibly broken nose.

Mark arrived before his Ma and Bobby did. He raised his eyebrows at Jack and gave Luke a dirty look before grabbing his sister by the arm and walking off.

An hour and a half later, full of a screaming Simmons Senior and a pissed of Evelyn Mercer, Jack was released with a week full of detention.

In an attempt to ignore Bobby's lame ass and careless driving and Evelyn's speeches about unnecessary violence, Jack entertained himself by the memory of how pretty Annie's lips looked painted red, and the once look of concern she gave him as she took in his bleeding lip.

Faintly, he heard Bobby mutter a, "What the fuck?" and his mother gasp of shock and surprise.

He straightened in the backseat, to adjust his view. The sight made his blood run cold and his heart to stop.

The street was full of fire trucks and engines. And police cars.

Was their house on fire?

Bobby sped down the streets, and as they got closer and the smoke cleared, they realized it wasn't their house.

Bobby hastily parked their car next to Mark's empty Chevy Impala. The three Mercer's jumped out of the still-running car.

Evelyn grabbed her chest in agony.

Bobby was running his hands through his hair and cursing at the top of his lungs.

Jack hit the ground on his knees.

The James home was burnt to the ground.

* * *

Do you hate me? I'm pretty sure you hate me! Review please, the updates just come quicker if you do!


	7. Chapter 7

A/N I just love teasing my audience! And I love how into it all you readers get! This chapter is shorter than I anticipated, but as I wrote the ending I just realized it was the perfect way to end off!

Chapter Seven is a belated birthday gift to the lovely amroberts17! I hope you enjoy!

Also, this story has gotten over 900 hits and it currently has 32 reviews, it's on 9 alert lists, and 9 favourite lists! Thank you all so so much! You have no idea how much it means to me.

Disclaimer: I don't own Four Brothers, Heaven Forbid by the Fray, or A Lovely Love Story!

* * *

Chapter Seven

Jack focussed on the tiny, minuscule blades of grass peeping through the light blanket of snow on the ground. He focussed on the cracks in the sidewalk, the words that were graffitied there, the stories behind those words.

It was something.

Something to distract him from the man telling his mother that there were bodies_- empty, soulless corpses_- recovered, that the cause of the fire began in the house, that it was an act of violence. He tried his hardest not to pay attention to her broken, uncontrollable and throughly painful loud sobs. He tried to ignore Bobby's loud, tension filled and infuriated voice yelling at the authorities, demanding answers that he desperately needed to know.

Jack also tried to ignore the burning and sickening smell of charcoal in the air, tried not to breathe in the smoke that- that killed-

No- no- if he even started to think about it, then it would be _real_.

Then Anna would never be able to smile her smile, laugh that sometimes too loud laugh that got people lookin', she'd never be able to climb through his window, she'd never smile that smile she always did for _him_. The one that started in her eyes, and then one side of her mouth curled up and slowly but surely, the rest of her mouth would be set in a wide, full position. Her tiny teeth gleamed when she smiled _his_ smile. Jack would never be able to see Anna swing her legs as she ate Cheerio's at 6 in the evening for supper, never be able to hear her argue with his mother that it was a perfectly acceptable dinner.

He'd never- he'd _never_ even get to hear the sound of her fucking breathing next to him. Or tell her she looked beautiful and fuckin' soul _shaking_ in her dress.

He had to tell her so many fuckin' things.

But he couldn't think on any of this, because if he did, he'd become a quivering mess.

He'd be_ broken_.

And his best friend- his _Annie_- would be _dead_.

So, instead he thought back.

_Jack and Anna were thirteen at the time. It was an Indian summer, the August sun beating down harshly on the people of Detroit. Children played hockey on the streets, the tough kids of the neighbourhood hollered obscenities at people passing by, cars flew by with that summer's song blasting, it was summer in Detroit and Jack loved it. _

_He was in his room, Evelyn had forced him up there to clean it. He had just shoved a pile of clothes underneath the bed when he realized there was something outside his window. _

_He grinned as he made his way over, already knowing what it was, or rather, _who_ it was. He slid back the curtains, and popped his head out of the window._

_There Anna was, with her short and too faded denim cut off shorts and a "Save the Earth" t-shirt, her legs swinging back and forth on the huge, full oak tree placed between the Mercer home and the James home. Her nose was nestled comfortably into a large, oversized children's book. _

_There was a look of utter contentment on her now pink , lightly sunburned face. And Jack just wanted to stay there for a few moments and look at her. It made him feel nice, but also a little bit jealous that she could feel so carefree and happy while he was- well, while he was _Jack_._

_As Jack continued to stare at Annie in silence, he noticed a grin on her face, "Are you just going to stand there all day and stare, Jackie?"_

_Anna asked, without looking up from the mystery book._

_Jack grinned, and climbed out the window and sat himself next to the girl next door._

"_Whatcha reading?" Jack asked, pulling the book from his best friend's hands._

_Annie tutted, as she swatted him with her hand. Jack just laughed as hid eyes traced the title of the children's book, _A Lovely Love Story _by some guy called Edward Monkton _

_It was another one of those funny things about Anna, something that added to her quirkiness, added to _who_ she was. _

_Her reading material._

_Jack would look sometimes and she would be reading a novel by George Orwell, or Lucy Maud Montgomery, or Harper Lee, or Charles Dickens, and some other times she would be reading a book that would be a six year old's favourite. He liked it._

_Jack flicked through the pages of the book and took notice of oversized and childlike font and the most peculiar pictures of large, funny like dinosaurs._

_He rose his eyebrows at Anna, asking a silent question, "I picked it up at the library, yesterday," she explained with a gentle smile as she bumped her shoulder with his, "It's a love story about dinosaurs."_

_He released a chuckle and softly shook his head in disbelief, "I didn't know you were into dinosaurs _or_ love stories."_

_She shrugged her fragile shoulders and joked, "I'm a mystery, Jack Mercer, you should know that by now."_

_And she _was_ a mystery. And he did know that. There was much more to _Princess_ Anna than he first anticipated that first day outside of middle school._

_She rested her blonde head on his shoulder and flicked toward the first page, "Wanna read?" She asked with a smile, tilting her head so she could look up at him._

_He nodded, not saying anything._

_Annie began, her voice strong yet soft with a hint of a grin tugging at her pink lips, "The fierce Dinosaur was trapped inside his cage of ice. Although it was cold he was happy in there. It was, after all, his cage. Then along came the Lovely Other Dinosaur. The Lovely Other Dinosaur melted the Dinosaur's cage with kind words and loving thoughts."_

_Annie was smiling now, "I like this Dinosaur thought the Lovely Other Dinosaur. Although he is fierce he is also tender and he is funny. He is also quite clever though I will not tell him this for now." _

_She lowered her voice to a deep, over-done man like voice as she spoke the other character's dialogue, "I like this Lovely Other Dinosaur, thought the Dinosaur. She is beautiful and she is different and she smells so nice. She is also a free spirit which is a quality I much admire in a dinosaur. But he can be so distant and so peculiar at times, thought the Lovely Other Dinosaur. He is also overly fond of things. Are all Dinosaurs so overly fond of things?" _

_Jack liked this story so far, he also liked the feeling of Annie's head resting on his shoulder._

_The tiny blonde girl continued, "But her mind skips from here to there so quickly thought the Dinosaur. She is also uncommonly keen on shopping. Are all Lovely Other Dinosaurs so uncommonly keen on shopping?"_

_Jack chuckled_

"_I will forgive his peculiarity and his concern for things, thought the Lovely Other Dinosaur. For they are part of what makes him a richly charactered individual."_

_All of a sudden the book fell from Jack's hands, and fell down to the ground. Fell straight down in the large, overflowing dumpster._

"_Well fuck," Jack muttered, not bothering to not curse around Annie._

_Anna's legs stopped swinging and looked dismally down to the dumpster, where the book lay covered in disgusting garbage. _

"_Ms. Peters at the library is going to be pissed." She spoke nonchalantly, dragging out the last word. Then, she laughed her too loud laugh._

Jack was still on the ground on his knees, which were slowly numbing, just like the rest of him. He concentrated on that feeling, rather than what was going on around him.

Tears, that he didn't know were falling, were making their way down his cold, frost-bitten cheeks.

He rose his head to stare at the half burnt oak tree that the two had sat down on that hot summer's day. The top half of the tree was now destroyed, the branch that Annie always used to walk on to get over to his window, his room was gone.

It was then that he noticed the curtain blowing out of his window and into the cold, Detroit winter night. That was strange since he _never_ left his window open since the fight. It was most definitely closed before he left to go to the dance.

But then- why was it opened? Bobby or his Ma wouldn't have opened it, there was no reason to, was there?

He slowly began to get up off his knees, his cold limbs cracking as he did so. His heavy breaths made fluffy clouds in the cold air.

Distantly, he felt a hand on his shoulder, heard his mother's sobbing faintly, her cold arms wrap themselves around his middle.

The touch woke something in him then; a realization, a hot, steaming fire of hope.

Jack broke free of the hold, "Annie!" He yelled, as he took off into a run toward his house.

He heard his mother yell after him, Bobby shout a question, but he couldn't hear their footsteps over his own, heavy ones. He practically busted open the front door and nearly tripped in his desperate run to his room.

His heart beat was faster than he could ever remember it beating. Blood pounded in his ears, but his brain was incapable of thought. Because at this moment, he wasn't listening to it, he was just following his heart; his soul.

Finally, he got to the door. For a split second, his shaking, quivering hand stilled on the doorknob.

This moment could change everything.

But it was better than his heart being destroyed.

In a quick, swift motion his door was wide open. And there, in the middle of his still untidy room was Anna James, his Annie.

She was on the floor, curled into a weak, fetal position. Blood pooled around her, tears trekked their way down her gorgeous, beautiful face. Her white, once pure dress was destroyed.

She was soaked in gasoline.

Jack never thought he saw a more beautiful thing.

He breathed.

* * *

She's alive! Or, is she? Dun dun dun! And where is Mark? And why is she soaked in gas? Hmmm! More to come!

Again, happy belated birthday to the lovely reviewer amroberts17! This chapter is dedicated to you!

Please review, I love it!


	8. Chapter 8

A/N I know, I know, I'm a horrible person! So sorry for the very delayed update! My computer was broken, then it was fixed, then it was broken once again! But at last, it is fixed! So here, it is! Chapter 8! Thank you all so much for the constant reviews, and alerts and the hits! Keep 'em coming!

Disclaimer: I don't even own 0.00001% of Four Brothers!

* * *

Chapter Eight

He could see himself now- sitting down in this small, crappy waiting room chair, his bowed head in his hands. His hands which were covered in blood- her blood.

Anna's blood

This waiting room was killing him, it was a slow and painful death. The room's lime green walls were tormenting him, torturing him really.

Jack Mercer was in limbo.

He was past grieving for Anna's apparent fiery death which he believed for about 5 seconds (the longest five seconds of his life, all in the same) but he was stuck in a place which wouldn't allow him to rejoice for her life.

Because, well, was she actually alive?

Of course she was, Jack admonished himself for the thought.

It was Anna_ goddamn_ James, for christsake. This was the girl who climbed the largest trees, who beat up bullies on the playground, who talked back to _Bobby_, who never once cried that time she broke her ankle.

She couldn't be _dead_.

Death was so - so,_ below_ Anna Georgia James.

Comforted by the thought, Jack's shoulders relaxed. They relaxed some more when his mother, sitting next to him, rubbed them as she passed on her comfort.

If there ever was a combined state of extreme distress, mind bottling anger, pitiful sadness, and heart churning mourning, Evelyn Mercer was in it.

Hell, Evelyn Mercer, Jack's mother, was the head of that State.

A boy, who she considered to be a son of sorts, since she met him when he was eleven years old, was gone. Dead.

Mark James' remains were found in the crumbling structure, which was now reduced to ash and cinder, that once housed the James family.

Evelyn had lost a son tonight.

And another son, this time a legally bound son, was MIA.

Or, had run away, whichever you preferred.

Jack Mercer would never have thought that he would have uttered the words that he had earlier tonight to his mother. But he had.

Bobby was a _fuckin' coward_.

An hour after they arrived at the hospital, Bobby finally showed. His hands, which were clenched in angry fists, were bloody. But it wasn't his own blood though. He had information, so Jack assumed that he beat up some two bit cop or somethin'.

It was Bobby that broke the news to Jack and his mother that Mark's empty corpse was found. As Evelyn was reduced to a sobbing, broken mess and as Jack tried his best to comfort her, Bobby merely leaned against the wall.

Jack had just chalked it up to the fact that Mark was the only person that Bobby could actually stand to be around for a few hours a day.

If anyone would be able to handle the title of Robert Mercer's best friend, it was Mark.

How stone cold Bobby was, as he leaned against one of the ugly green walls, disturbed Jack. His seemingly calmness disturbed him too, so did the fact that the only sign of pain or anger was Bobby's clenched fist.

When their mother had composed herself, it was then he finally spoke.

His words disturbed Jack too. More so than Bobby's unexpected behaviour.

"I'm leaving," Spoke Bobby, "I don't know when I'll be back, but I'm leaving."

For a minute, Evelyn ceased to breathe. Then, her head whipped around and she stomped over, landing mere centimetres from Bobby's face.

"What did you say Robert Mercer?" Evelyn questioned.

He met her eye, "I'm leaving."

Her eyes widened as she jolted back in shock, "You're leaving?"

Bobby didn't have to nod to answer the question.

The entire time, Jack had stayed completely silent, hands dug deep in his pockets. This wasn't the time, Anna was in there, lying in a hospital bed half-dead and Mark _was_ dead.

The anger on his mother's face had been much more extreme than Jack could ever remember seeing, "Are you just going to abandon your family, Bobby Mercer? Because, in case you didn't realize, we are the only thing that, that girl," she had pointed to the room, "has left!"

Again, Bobby had stayed silent.

The disappointment on their mother's face had clouded over the anger she was feeling, "I never thought you'd be able to do it, Bobby."

"I have to make it right."

The anger won at that moment, "Make it right???!!? BY WHAT? KILLING YOURSELF? OFFERING YOURSELF UP?"

People were paying attention now.

Jack couldn't blame them, his attention was peaked too.

Evelyn's voice was strong, it was even, "This wasn't random, Bobby, I'm not a foolish woman. I've known you and Mark have been up to some bad things these past couple of months. But I don't want to lose another son this night."

As had Bobby looked into Evelyn's pleading and desperate eyes, he had flinched away. Jack had chose that moment to stand up completely and looked at the two Mercer's.

He had watched as Bobby's strong and wide back turned towards the Mercers, and walked away.

Bobby Mercer was a fuckin' coward, indeed.

Bobby had been gone for about 30 minutes, when the doctor assigned to Annie's case finally reappeared.

The doctor, Dr. Derek Wright, was a tall, imposing black man with a fairly scruffy beard. His dark, narrowed eyes searched the waiting room for the Mercers.

"Are you family?" He asked, when he reached them.

Evelyn was quick and sharp, "We may as well be."

He nodded, and glanced down at the chart, "Miss James' injuries are very extent, I'm sorry to report. The stab wound to her lower stomach is, by far, the most severe. A rib was broken in the attack, too. Also, the girl has suffered much blood loss. Fortunately, there was some of her rare blood type in the blood bank. In addition to the stab wound, Anna has suffered from a minimum amount of hypothermia which we treated easily and a small concussion which we are currently looking after."

They breathed.

It wasn't the best circumstances, but it sure as hell weren't the worst.

The churning in Jack's stomach settled, but his only thought was that he_ had _to see Anna. Had to see her breathe, smile, and laugh. Had to hear the sound of her voice and had to smell her smell of sunshine and almonds.

God. He was way too over his head with this girl.

He spoke immediately after the doctor was finished his spiel, "Can we see her?"

Dr. Wright nodded, "Anna is stable, she just woke up. Miss James showed signs of confusion and distress earlier, but she's alright now for the time being. She's quite bloodied up, so stay calm."

_The time being._

If Jack had his way, Anna James would be in a safe, well constructed bubble the rest of her life or maybe in his room, safe from harm's way. She'd never get another scratch on her.

They entered the room slowly.

When Jack took sight of Anna's tiny and fragile body, tattooed in black and blue bruises, her ribs wrapped up in cloth, tiny cuts all over her body, he forgot how to breathe.

It shouldn't have happened. Not to Annie. Not now, not ever.

God, why couldn't he just took the stick out of his goddamn ass and apologise. They would have been_ them_ again, she never would have gone to that stupid, cock sucking dance with that little fucker, they would have stayed home and watched movies or just talked for hours on end. She wouldn't have been alone. She wouldn't have been knocked around like a fucking rag doll by god knows who or god knows why. She would have been safe. She would have been whole. She wouldn't have been reduced to bruises, and cuts, and wires poking out of her.

She would never have been forced to crawl through his fuckin window for safety.

Jesus fuckin Christ.

When they reached Anna's bedside, Jack remained silent. He simply chose to take in her face.

Her pale, smooth and high boned cheeks, her tiny heart shaped mouth, and her thick and long lashes that fluttered down to her cheeks.

Long, dirty streams of tears smeared her broken face.

She would have been safe, he had just fuckin grown a pair.

Goddamn it all to hell.

All of a sudden, Anna's eyes flickered open.

They weren't the bright, laughing emerald green he was use to. Now, they were mossy and dull.

Anna had ghost eyes.

She looked at him, grasped his hand and clenched it painfully tight. He made a point not to flinch, instead, he just looked straight into her eyes.

No matter if they were ghost eyes, they were Anna's eyes.

Her voice was scratchy and broken, but it was _there_, it was with_ him_, "It wasn't a dream, was it?"

* * *

Please, please review! It'll mean oh so much!


	9. Chapter 9

A/N So, I think it's time for another Evelyn POV chapter :) And I think I decided that chapter 11 shall be the chapter where we all see the world from Anna's eyes. She's quite angst ridden in this chapter, but I think that's understandable!

Also, I think I'm going to be sticking to weekly updates now, school/life is very crazy at the moment! Thank you all for following!

Disclaimer: Do you think I own Four Brothers? If you don't, cookie for you!

* * *

Chapter Nine

They didn't have enough money to bury Mark.

This unfortunate fact disturbed Evelyn greatly and annoyed her to no end.

The James family had little money to begin with. When Michael had died in that car accident years ago, the money that he had saved for his children for their college careers was spent on lawyers fighting for Anna.

The little money that was left over after the endless court battle was spent through the years on mere living.

And whatever money they did have was destroyed in the fire. Along with everything else that was the James' life.

So, Evelyn, Anna, and the Mercers had no other choice than to cremate their fallen brother and son, or well- the little remains of Mark that was found.

The cremation news left Anna entirely mute and stone cold for a day. She spent that day curled into a small and fragile ball.

Evelyn could understand the thoughts of irony running through the little blonde girl's head.

Anna never spoke much during her week in the hospital. Well, the little girl didn't do much of anything. She stared, she nodded, she shook her head, and spoke only when completely needed.

And she held her Jackie's hand the entire time.

That was something that comforted Evelyn endlessly while she grew disgusted at herself for having no money and when she was grew so incredibly scared when she thought about Bobby and Anna.

Bobby. The name was taboo for the past week.

Anna never asked where her pseudo big brother was, and no one told her. He still hadn't shown up, a fact that angered Evelyn, yet reduced her to tears at the same time.

But he was still alive- Evelyn knew it, she believed in it, she prayed for it. Her Bobby wasn't going to lie down and play dead, he was going to fight, he was going to be a martyr.

Still, she wished she knew where exactly he was. Even though she had a damned good idea.

They were bringing Anna home today- _No, not home_, Evelyn reminded herself, _to the Mercer house._

But, well, _was _that home to Anna _now_?

Shaking the thoughts away, Evelyn glanced back in rearview mirror. Jeremiah was riding shotgun, his nervous state shown through his shaking legs. Jack and Anna were sitting in the backseat. And funnily enough, Anna wasn't holding hands with Jack. Instead, she had planted herself against the other side of the backseat, seemingly as far away as she could get from the dirty blonde haired boy. Her head was rested gloomingly against the window. Jack kept shooting nervous glances at her from his spot in the backseat, his eyes wide with anxiousness and his shoulders stiff with anticipation.

The poor boy was wrecked.

The two of them- Jack and Anna, were a funny thing.

Because as soon as Evelyn turned into their street, Anna desperately grasped for Jack's hand.

Jack's lips turned up in a small smile, however, he quickly covered up his happiness as a look of realization crossed his face.

Anna was in pain, she was anguished and she was wrecked and she was broken.

But she was still their Anna Georgia James.

Evelyn didn't look back at Anna and Jack when she got closer to the Mercer home and the remains of what once was the James house.

She didn't need to see Anna's face remembering that night a week ago. She didn't need to see the little girl she saw grow up lose a part of herself.

The four of them stayed in the car minutes after the engine was shut off. Evelyn thought that the silence comforted all of them. The car itself created a safe barrier between them and reality. Between them and the remains of the James home.

"I'm cold." Anna said, "Can we go in now?"

The other three, after shooting her worried looks, quickly nodded and jumped out of the car. Jack practically ran over to Anna's side to help her walk, as the stab wound and the broken rib made it quite difficult for her to walk with.

But the pair didn't get to the door. When Jack tugged on Anna's hand, she didn't move. Instead, she grasped Jack's hand firmer and tugged _him_ over to the place that once housed the home she grew up in.

Evelyn and Jeremiah didn't notice at first, but when they did take notice, they just watched. They let Anna have that moment to herself.

Well, she had the moment with Jack with her, but Evelyn always thought that Anna could only be herself completely when she was with Jack, and Jack himself.

The bruised blonde stared down at the debris, her face cold but her lip quivering. A tear leaked down her cheek, which she roughly rubbed away.

"Can we go away now?" Anna asked, bending her head almost all the way back in order to look up to the much taller Jack.

Jack nodded, and together the two walked in the house, past Evelyn and Jeremiah without saying a word.

* * *

She stayed in Angel's room.

Even though Anna probably would have been much more comfortable in the room with Jack, Evelyn couldn't allow it.

She understood their relationship, their friendship, their utmost need for each other, but she couldn't allow it.

They _were _teenagers after all. And even though she knew that Jack would never, ever take advantage, Anna was hurt and looking for comfort.

So for their sake, even though the two probably didn't realize it right now, Anna was forced to stay in Angel's room as the boy was gone serving as a Marine.

There was another reason why Evelyn didn't want Anna to stay in Jack's room.

Evelyn didn't want Anna to smell the whole bottle of bleach that Jackie used to scrub away the blood stain. _Anna's_ blood stain.

It was the night after Anna was admitted to the hospital, and about 2 o'clock in the morning. Evelyn had woken up from her troubled sleep by the sounds of fierce scrubbing. She had hurried from her bed, and threw on her housecoat on her way. As soon as she had opened her bedroom door, the stench of bleach had hit her. She had flinched as she made the trek to Jack's lightened room.

He had been on the floor, the youngest Mercer son. Jack was on his hands and knees, scrubbing fiercely at the stain. A bottle of bleach by his side as he tried and tried to rid his room, his and Anna's once safe haven, of what happened.

He never looked up at her. Instead, he kept scrubbing. His hand was almost invisible as he went back and forth, back and forth.

The hardness that he used scrubbing, scared Evelyn. So she stopped him by saying his name, but he ignored her.

She said it again. And again, and again, before he stilled.

He stopped, his hand outward and his body in a stretched position across the blood stain. His breath was heavy and harsh.

Evelyn just stepped closer to him, slowly. Then, she did the only thing she knew. She wrapped her arms around the sobbing boy and loved him.

The smell of bleach still wafted through the air.

It was going to be a while until they were all okay again.

* * *

They were sitting down for breakfast when Bobby arrived home one week after Anna moved into the Mercer home.

Evelyn, with her hair pinned back in a hazard state, Jack with his tired head resting against the old, wooden table and Anna with her quiet stare down at her toast were not expecting it in the slightest.

His arrival was a quiet one, one that greatly contrasted his usual loud and boisterous arrivals of the past.

He had entered the house by the back door. His footsteps fell on deaf ears, Evelyn, Jack and Anna wouldn't have heard him if it wasn't for his, "Anyone home?"

Their heads shot up, and Evelyn's chair was quickly scraped backward when Bobby appeared in the doorway.

"Hey." Was all that he said.

The three of them stared at him for a moment, Evelyn and Jack standing up in shock, while Anna remained sitting in her usual state.

Evelyn ran to him, throwing her arms around him in happiness. Despite the fact that his face and entire body was heavily bruised, but that was to be expected.

It _was_ Bobby after all.

"Are you okay, Bobby?" Evelyn whispered into his neck.

"Yeah, I'm okay now."

Evelyn smiled, "I'm glad, don't you ever, ever scare me like that again, you hear?"

The two broke apart, and Evelyn hurriedly prepared something for her oldest.

Bobby's eyes trailed over to where Jack and Anna, stood and sat respectively.

"Gonna say hi to me, little brother?"

"You look like shit."

"You look like a fairy."

Bobby smirked at Jack, and Jack grinned at Bobby.

Evelyn realized that despite whatever role Bobby had in the fire, he was still Jack's brother. And Jack realized this better than anyone else could. Pride swelled inside her at the thought.

Bobby's smirk faded as he took in the slouched figure that was Anna James. When he spoke, his voice was strained and scratchy, "How you doin', Tink?"

To Evelyn it seemed as though Bobby wanted to pretend nothing happened.

Anna looked up from her toast, "Peachy keen."

But it did.

Bobby coughed uncomfortably, and strangely tried to size her up. He stepped closer to her, and took in her injuries.

His laugh was quiet and not whole, "We look like a pair."

Cold green eyes snapped toward him as the pretty blonde girl pushed back her chair in anger.

She spoke, her eyes still focussed on Bobby, "I'm done breakfast, Miss Evelyn. Funnily enough, I'm feeling quite nauseous all of a sudden."

She stomped up the stairs without another word.

The three Mercers stayed in silence, eyes focussed on Anna's escape route.

Evelyn decided to break the silence by moving closer to Bobby, "Sit down."

He did so, so Evelyn continued, "Tell me where you've been, Bobby."

The burly boy didn't speak for a long time. He fiddled with a lone fork on the table. When he did decide to speak, his voice was harsh, "Me and Mark got involved with some bad people. The fire wasn't an accident Ma, it wasn't random. They wanted to kill him and anyone else that got in the way. I had to do something, they had to pay and_ I_ wanted to be the person that _made_ them pay."

"So, you decided to kill them?" Evelyn asked, trying to keep her voice calm and void of criticism.

"They_ killed _him, and they would've killed _Anna _too if she hadn't crawled through that window."

Damn. "What _kind_ of business did you get involved with exactly?"

"You were dealing, right?" Anna's voice spoke up from the doorway.

She had reappeared, her fists clenched and her eyes red from tears.

Bobby never spoke, his eyes just widened. It was then that Evelyn realized why Bobby was sizing Anna up, he wanted to find out how much the young girl knew.

"Answer me." She demanded with more emotion in her voice than Evelyn and Jack heard from her for the past two weeks.

"Yeah, we were dealing. Drugs."

Anna nodded, even though Evelyn could tell she already knew they were dealing for a fact, "And Mark decided to stop right? Decided that getting weekly beatings from the supplier wasn't worth the cash flow?"

"That's right."

Anna nodded again, this time the action was almost harsher while her eyes were focussed solely on Bobby. This conversation was between the two of them and purely for Anna's benefit, for her sanity. And Evelyn thought that the young girl desperately wanted to find a way to punish the older Mercer and it seemed that this was the way to do it.

"And the two guys that came to my home, that destroyed it and destroyed me and killed Mark, they worked for this supplier?"

"Anna-"

"Answer the question, _Bobby_."

"Yeah, they worked for him."

"They were trying to punish you two?"

"Yes."

"Did you know they were waiting for us when we came home? They found a way into our house when Mark came to pick me up from the dance?"

"I guessed that was when they got in."

"Well, we didn't know they were there at first. We came home, we talked, we joked, I got a bowl of cereal and Mark watched Letterman. But when I went to put the dish cloth in the washer, I found one of the guys, Slim was it? Well, he was waiting for me in the laundry room. He put a knife to my throat, and put his hand up my thigh and told me to be a good little girl."

"Anna-"

"Let me finish!"

He didn't say anything, so she continued, "The other guy, Quinzie, was upstairs the entire time. So when Slim brought me to Mark in the living room, his partner was there with a gun to the back of his head to make sure he wouldn't do anything. He threatened Mark with my life. Quinzie told Mark he was going to die and it was going to hurt, and he was going to see me die. Told him he had to _pay_."

Anna took a breath, she was crying now. Her arms were wrapped around herself as if she was trying to keep herself from falling in a pile.

"They had ropes with them. They tied me to a chair facing Mark. I was still in my dress. They cut it. They cut _me_. Apparently, you and Mark tried to take some of their boss' stash before you two left the '_business_.' Mark told them that he didn't have it, so they assumed you had it. But Mark refused to tell them where you were. Hell, he didn't know _where_ you were! _No one_ knows where you're too!"

Bobby stared. Evelyn cried. Jack was useless.

"So they punched him, they kicked him, they cut him. And they did the same to me. But when they had enough, they took out the gas. They covered me with it and told him they were going to watch me burn. I couldn't breathe, the only thing I could do was sob and _beg_. I've _never_ had to beg in my _entire _life."

She took another pause, "The match was lit, but then something happened. A car went by blasting music, and- and they got distracted. Mark got away. He grabbed the gun from the guy and pointed it- he shot the two of them. But the match fell, and landed on some of the gas on the floor. I would've caught fire if it wasn't for him. He had just untied me when- when Slim got back up. They fought and- and a gun went off but I couldn't see anything! The house was on fire, flames were going everywhere- I - I don't even know how I _didn't _catch on fire."

Her tears came faster.

"Then, all I could hear was Mark telling me to run. So I did."

Her breathing was heavy, she was full out sobbing now. But the words were heard plain and clear.

"I ran up the stairs, I don't know why I didn't choose the door, I just had to get away. But I didn't get far. The other guy, Quinzie, caught me. Grabbed me around the ankle and hauled me down the stairs. He shoved Slim's knife into my stomach and told me my brother was dead, and I was going to join him. And I could thank Bobby Mercer for that. But I got away. I ran up the stairs and locked the door. By that point, the house was crumbling and I was trapped."

Her tears stilled. Her voice became strangely calm.

"But I wasn't trapped, I could just climb over to Jackie's room. I could just climb out of the house. It was simple. It was easy."

She was hysterical again, she was sobbing and clutching at herself, scratching her arms up in anger.

"He said I could thank Bobby Mercer!" She yelled loudly and hysterically, "It should have been _you_ in that fire, you should have died, Bobby!"

* * *

Woozers! So, there's your angst for you! I really didn't expect this chapter to be this long! It's my longest yet at eight pages and 3, 159 words (according to this)!

Please review!


	10. Chapter 10

A/N Thank you all for your wonderful reviews! Anna is most definitely the victim here, and she's obviously going through a lot right now. Her brother is dead, and she's traumatized by everything that happened. She is going to be black cloud Anna for a few more chapters!

Disclaimer: Do you really think that I would be using this crappy laptop if I owned Four Brothers? No comment? Fineee (insert sigh) I don't own Four Brothers.....but I do own Anna

* * *

Chapter Ten

_One Week Later _

The Mercer household was tense.

It was too tense, it was too uncomfortable, it was too warm, and it was too suffocating.

Anna James was freakin' suffocating in the Mercer household.

_No_. Correction; Anna James was freakin' suffocating in life. She couldn't _breathe_, she couldn't _think_, she couldn't _feel_. Anna James couldn't _live._

And there wasn't a damn thing she could do about it.

Faintly, she heard Jack and Bobby fighting downstairs. It was a regular occurrence as of late. For a few days after Bobby returned from his hiatus, the two seemed to be getting along. But that went downhill pretty damn quick, thought Anna. At any given opportunity, Jack would pick a fight with Bobby and well, Bobby was never one to back down.

Anna gave a cynical and broken chortle at the thought.

'_Bobby Mercer; the fighter,_' Anna thought sarcastically to herself.

As freakin' _if_.

But she wasn't about to get into that now.

Because now, she was packing up her things. Not that she had thatmany things to pack up. Almost everything was lost in the fire. Lost with Mark. Lost with _her_.

But once again, she wasn't going to get into that now.

Because Angel was home. He had taken a short leave of absence from the Navy to grace them with his presence. He was only going to be home for barely two weeks, but he was home nonetheless.

He wasn't able to get the time off when Mark- when the fire happened- but he was home now.

And that made the dark and little less dark.

Well, sometimes anyway.

Angel, with his wide and bright smile and his deep and comforting voice. Angel, who wrapped his big arms around her as soon as he laid eyes on her and for a second, it was Angel that made her feel as though she had stepped into the past. She had transferred herself back; she was eight years old and a bully from down the street had tripped her in a middle of a hockey game and Angel had came along and scooped her off the ice and into his big and warm arms.

But Mark and Bobby wasn't in the background beating that bully to a pulp.

Mark was gone and now Bobby was the bully.

And she was alone, with nothing.

As she dumped the shirts she had stolen from Jack into the box, along with her favourite books and her journals that she had fortunately left over to Evelyn's the night of the fire, she realized that this room, the one that she had holed herself into these past weeks wasn't even hers to claim.

It was Angel's, and rightfully so.

Even though it was the only place that shielded her from the sight of what was left over from her home, that protected her from the stares and whispers at school, from the sad looks Evelyn shot her and the dark, guilty look etched on Bobby's face.

But more importantly, this room saved her from the knee shaking care that was always present in Jackie's eyes.

She just couldn't handle that amount of caring right now, plain and simple.

Hell, how could she? She didn't even have a room to call her own.

She had the Mercer couch. And yes, when Angel went back to the Navy then she'd have the room again.

But it was only for rent.

Just like frickin' life.

Nothing was permanent anymore.

But really, what was the point of owning something? It would just disappear in the end, and you'd be left alone. Alone and hurting and wanting it back.

Maybe renting wasn't such a bad thing after all.

* * *

The days that Anna spent at the Mercer household, weeks after the fire, were mundane at best. She would get up in the morning, try and convince herself that there was a point in waking up for about an hour, get ready, go to school, ignore the looks that she got, tried to escape the people that thought she was their friend, try and ignore Adam, watch Jack kill himself with cigarettes, try and focus on her studies, return home while watching Jack kill himself with cigarettes, watch Jack cook supper while scribbling angry words in her journal, ignore Bobby, ignore Bobby, ignore Bobby, ignore Jack's worried looks as she played with her food, ignore Evelyn, ignore Bobby, ignore homework, ignore Bobby, hate Bobby, and then she would sleep.

Or at least try and sleep, it seemed as though she had developed quite the bout of insomnia.

Sometimes, when she closed her eyes at night, the smell of gasoline came back to her. Then the tears came. And once she had cried herself to sleep, soon after she would wake up, but not pleasantly, Anna would wake up in blind panic.

She would think, for endless minutes full of panic that she was on fire. She could feel the hot flames licking at her skin, the burn of the flame, the heat.

And that was happening now. The fire was back, and so were the memories.

Choking back the pain, Anna hopped up from the almost comfortable couch and blindly reached for the light switch. Then, after a short moment of hesitation, she practically ran up the staircase, her feet moving on their own accord to the only sense of comfort she had left.

_He looked peaceful_, Anna thought.

Jack Mercer looked peaceful, and innocent, and all things good. The bad boy, rocker wannabe looked like the All-American boy with his too long legs encased in blue, plaid pyjama bottoms and his head buried deep into his pillow. His messy tufts of blonde hair were peaking out at adorable angles that almost made Anna smile.

Almost.

_It wasn't right to wake him,_ Anna thought, _it wasn't right to destroy something so innocent and peaceful_

But it was too late, because as soon as Anna had her hand on the doorknob to escape, Jack woke up.

"Anna?" He asked, croakily.

She stopped for a moment, then turn around to face the boy that was her best friend.

She looked at him, all the while fingering the frayed edge of her white nightgown.

"I had a bad dream." She whispered to the dark room, her eyes focused on her gown.

Jack never moved or spoke, until "You had a bad dream?"

There was a note of surprise in his voice; after all, she wasn't all that talkative these past few weeks.

Their roles in their epic friendship had somehow reversed themselves over time. Now, Jack was the talking one and Anna was the poor, lost child.

She nodded at the question, her unruly curly hair falling in her face as she did so.

Jack didn't hesitate this time, "C'mon," he said, with a nod to his bed.

Anna walked over, and slid into the space that Jack had made for her and decided, in the spur of the moment, to rest her head on his shoulder.

They were both quiet for a long time, her with her head resting against his shoulder with her entire body curled into his, and him, propped up on his elbow, staring at her.

All of a sudden, she heard him gulp. She raised her eyes in curiosity to his face and followed his wide and suddenly dark, crystal blue eyes. Then, she realized what he was looking at.

Her bare and exposed thigh and leg.

With a hot blush, she hastily covered herself up. Jack tried to stutter an apology but it was cut off with Anna's high pitched, and girlish giggle.

Jack stared at her incredulously, and then joined in with her.

For a moment, she felt like a normal teenager.

But just like the giggle and just like that brief moment of solitude, it was over.

Her head fell back on his shoulder and he made himself much more comfortable on the bed.

"The first time I ever took a step on my own," Anna began, trying to keep her voice strong, "Mark was holding onto my hand. My dad was there of course, but he was just watching me, recording it on a video camera."

She stopped.

"Mark was always the person holding onto me, protecting me from the fall and the danger. And the one time_ I_ could protect _him_, I _failed_. And I feel so terrible and worthless for that, but I can't stop thinking, with Mark gone, who is going to protect me now? Whose hand am I going to hold?"

Jack never answered, and Anna loved him for that.

She knew that _he_ knew that she wasn't trying for logic, that she was only saying these words because if she kept them inside any longer, she would just go insane.

Or, well, more insane than she already was.

"Am I still a sister, Jack?" She asked her voice weak and breaking, "Even though Mark is dead, am I still a sister? Or did that die when he died?"

Jack looked at her, and then rolled over so she was beneath him and he was on top. This way; crystal eyes met emerald. This way; she would understand how much he, Jack, cared for her, how much he loved her.

"No," Jack answered, "you're still a sister, you still love Mark, and you're still that girl that he loved. Being a sister is a_ part _of you."

"But what if I don't _want_ to have that part in me anymore?"

"That part, Anna" Jack said, his voice quiet and strong, "that part that makes you a sister isn't ever going to go away. That's the part that made you who you are, and Anna, _please,_ if you try and get rid of that part or forget about it, you're getting rid of Mark, you're forgetting him. You get rid of that part, and you're killing yourself. And you're killing Mark all over again."

Tears started to leak out of her eyes, and soon, she was sobbing into his chest and pressing him to her as close as possible.

"I can't breathe anymore, Jack!" Anna cried, "I can't think, I can't breathe, and I can't live. I'm in pain, and it won't go away. I just want it to go away."

It was simple.

She just wanted it all to go away.

But why was it so damn complicated?

Thank you for all your wonderful reviews! The more I get, the more motivated I am.

This chapter was a hard one, Anna is in a great deal of pain but at the same time I don't want her to be overdramatic, and for a while it was hard getting her voice. But at the end, I think I captured it!

Hope you liked it, and review


	11. Chapter 11

A/N YES, I'M ALIVE! I've honestly wrote this chapter three frickin' times, and every time I lost it because of my sucky computer. My laptop had to get sent away for two months, and I just got it back in June. I was out of the game for a while though, but BABY, I'M BACK!

I hope you guys like this!This chapter is dedicated to everyone who reviewed or added me to their alert list while I was gone. You guys really made me get off my ass and start writing!

Disclaimer: Do I own Four Brothers? Hell no. Do I wish I owned Four Brothers? Hell yes.

* * *

Chapter Eleven

In the morning, she was gone.

The only evidence that remained of Anna sleeping in his bed that night, was her special sunshine smell, the crinkled now cold sheets, and the quicker than regular heartbeat that Jack had grown accustomed to when he wasn't around the little blonde haired girl.

Well, woman. That was obvious last night. Jack knew that a girl could never make someone feel

the things he felt at the sight of Anna's naked, bare thigh.

The sudden heat, the rush of fire, the tightening, the sensation of burning. It was all too much. The only thought that Jack had been capable of during those few, short moments was how truly fan-fucking-tastic it would be to reach out and stroke the skin, how irresistibly soft it would be, how Anna would pur and moan, how he, himself would lose himself in all that was Anna James.

But it was all too god damn much.

Thank god Anna had broken the spell by expelling one of her too loud laughs. Because if she hadn't, he was sure he would have done it.

He would have lost himself in her, he would have done things to her that would make her sweet, lovely green eyes roll to the back of her head, make himself clench and gasp and sweat and groan.

Jack heaved a heavy sigh, his crisp white sheets rustling as he pushed himself back on his back to stare up at the ceiling.

Yeah, he most definitely had to take a shower. And this time, Bobby wouldn't be complaining about him using up all of the hot water.

* * *

They didn't go out anywhere anymore. Just to school. Once that was over, and they were in the safe confines of the Mercer household, it seemed as though the rest of the world floated away.

Anna would practically run out of Cass Technical, with Jack having to sprint with his long legs behind her in order to keep up the pace. The unspoken words between the two was that Anna needed-wanted Jack to follow her, but at the same time refused to ask or wait for him. The one time that Jack didn't immediately follow Anna out of the school was when one blonde groupie...Lucy, Lola, Lulu, Laura, Lollie or maybe even Stephanie?...interrupted his path with a whole lotta cleavage.

That stopped him in his path for a minute or two. Hey, he was a guy, wasn't he?

But he wasn't stopped for long. All it took was Anna to turn around on her heel and raise one blonde, nearly invisible eyebrow.

And he was trailing behind her like puppy in no time.

Jack knew that Anna wanted him, probably not in the way his perverse teenage sixteen year old mind and _body_ wanted, but at the end of the day, Anna James wanted some Jack Mercer.

But he wasn't sure if she needed him or not. He was sure that she thought she needed him, but really she didn't. Jack knew that Anna saw herself as this broken little girl, and he guessed that when she was around him, she saw herself as a strong, broken little girl, a brave little girl.

Jack thought that because Anna got up out of bed every morning, she was probably one of the strongest and bravest people in Detroit.

And if anything, he needed Anna, not the other way around.

The sick little boy part of him, that was hidden under the tough, Mercer exterior desperately needed Anna. The little boy that was tortured, mistreated, abused, hurt and touched needed Anna in his life. In some sick way, after the fire, being around Annie made him feel more normal and content than he had ever felt in his life.

Because, well, she was just as screwed up as he was.

Anna was tortured, mistreated and abused. And Jack, _Jack _felt _good_ because of that? Bile and disgust rose to his throat every time he acknowledged it.

He made himself sick. He really did.

But he supposed he should be use to it by now. Because he felt it every time their swaying hands nearly touched on the walk home. Every time he wanted to comfort her, but couldn't. Every day when they came home from school, and he headed off into the kitchen to cook dinner and she upstairs to change into her baggy pajamas like she was Lucy and he was her bitch.

He even felt it now, as he stirred the biscotti and watched Annie's pretty little scrawny legs sway back and forth from her perch on the kitchen counter.

She wasn't talking. _She never talked very much_, anyways, Jack realized. She was looking down, examining her bitten fingernails, and biting on her pink, plump bottom lip the same time not saying a word.

"I was talking to Luke today." She said suddenly.

Simmons? When the fuck was she talking to Luke Simmons? As far as Jack had known they hadn't had a conversation since the dance.

He couldn't help the funny, choking noise that came out of the back of his throat.

"He invited me to Tara Stanley's party tonight." Anna said non-committedly, still examining her fingernails with great interest.

Jack just straightened his back from his slouched position over the stove, and turned his eyes to look at her, "I'm kind of thinking about going." Anna said.

Jack coughed, "Do you uh think that's a good idea?"

Tara Stanley's parties were notorious. They were the kind of parties that in 35 years when you were old, balding, and resting a bowl of ice cream on a beer belly you'd think back to and feel like you were sixteen years old again. And Tara Stanley was the girl the kind of girl that didn't exist in 35 years, mostly because of her fondness for pill popping followed by some vodka.

Seeing Anna's annoyed expression and raised eyebrows, Jack felt the need to elaborate, "It's just that after Mar- I mean after the fi-" Jack stammered, "Since you moved in, you haven't exactly been out around. And it's great that you want to go out, its just are you sure it's a good idea if we went to _this_ thing?"

Anna's head shot up quickly, her messy curls flying back, "Funny, I can't remember mentioning a _we, _only an _I_." Her words were cold. Icy, in fact.

Jack stopped for a second, suddenly thinking that he couldn't remember when he considered Anna and himself to be one being, instead of two separate beings.

The thought stopped him for retorting, it didn't matter anyways because an apology rushed from Anna's mouth, "I'm sorry, you didn't deserve that." She said in a soft, child-like way.

Jack blinked, and turned back to dinner, "I'm just worried."

"But you shouldn't have to be worrying! You're a kid, I'm a kid. Can't we just be kids again?" Her words were desperate, begging.

He didn't say anything, he didn't even tell her that he never really saw himself as a kid. That privilege was taken a long time ago.

His words were slow, and entirely for her sake, "So I'm guessing normal kids go to parties?"

She nodded and smirked.

Jack guessed that meant they were going to a party.

* * *

When they arrived, the party was in full swing. That month's hottest hip hop song was blasting from the speakers, Jack rolled his eyes at the lyrics.

Really, who the fuck was Shawty? Did anybody know?

He looked around at the crowd, most of the people there were older than him and Anna. They were around the youngest there, but after all he was a Mercer. His name carried him far, he thought with a smirk.

He didn't really like it though. Especially when it brought him to parties like this. People practically humping on the dance floor - scratch that, he thought as he looked to the left- people were actually humping.

The drugs, the alcohol, the vomit, and the drunken stumbles didn't really do it for Jack Mercer.

But what did do it was Anna in clothes that actually fit. She was standing inches in front of him, facing the raging party. He took the opportunity to admire her.

Jack had almost forgot what Anna's legs looked like in denim, all she really wore these days were baggy sweat pants. He had missed the frayed, worn out jeans.

He also missed the sight of her ass in them.

The jeans were tight and hung low on Anna's tiny hips, a pair of high almost knee high winter boots encased her legs and feet, and she wore a regular white wife-beater on top.

Her outfit was simple, easy. He only wished that the girl wearing it was too.

Anna turned around then and grinned.

But there was something off with it, it wasn't the grin that he was use to. Not the one he grew up with, smiled at, looked forward to, he didn't even recognize this one.

"I'm going to go and find Luke!" She yelled over the thumping music.

Jack nodded, internally he wasn't happy, but what the hell. If he got lucky, he'd probably end the night off with a bruise to add to the blonde guy's collection. He went to go follow her, but Anna pushed him back, hands laying flat on his chest.

"Maybe you should stay here! I'm just going to go say hi, I shouldn't be too long." She said, eyes focused on something in the background.

He wanted to follow her, he really did. He wanted to be with her, what if something happened? But looking at her face, he realized that he couldn't suffocate her.

He nodded, and before he had a chance to blink she was gone, parting her way through the huge, partying crowd.

* * *

_Fifteen minutes passed a long, long time ago, _Jack realized.

She had promised it would only take fifteen minutes, but now an hour had gone by and there was still no sign of Anna.

To be honest though, for the first 45 minutes he didn't really miss her. He was pretty busy checking out and chatting up Cristina Moncton, a very, delicious girl two years older than him with a D cup and curly, blonde hair that reminded him of Anna, if she turned her head a certain way.

But for the last fifteen minutes, he had been distracted from Christina's heavy flirting and petting with thoughts of Anna. On the inside, he was fighting a battle.

"_To go after her, or not to go after her?" _was the question on Jack's mind.

Not how good Moncton smelt, or how nice her small hand going up and down his arm made his jeans tighten, but _Anna goddamn James_.

He was concerned about her, anything could have happened but he didn't want to go running after her like a goddamn _puppy._

"So what do you say about me going to the bathroom, and you following me, and then me fucking your brains out?" Christina blurted out, in a rushed and rehearsed way.

.fuck?

"Uh," Jack said, jaw hanging low.

Before he could come up with a reply, he spotted a lone Simmons over Christina's head. His eyes widened, and then he glanced down at the girl in front of him, who was now occupying herself with running a painted nail up and down Jack's chest.

Well, fuck.

"Be right back, babe." Jack said, placing a quick kiss on Christina's mouth.

Okay, so maybe he was going to be a puppy, but he didn't want to ruin a chance at getting laid by Christina effin' Moncton.

He quickly made his way over to pretty boy Luke, who was standing off to the side looking around the house.

"Where's Ann at, Simmons?" Nobody could ever say that Jack Mercer wasted time.

Luke looked up in surprise, "Anna? What the fuck are you talking about Mercer?"

His lips curled up into a snarl, annoyed with being forced to have conversation with the dickwad that took Anna to that dance. "Don't tell me you're that goddamn stupid. She told me she was going to go and say hi, since you asked her to this lovely _event_."

The anger and irritation that probably would have been there was washed away with concern, he answered in a choked voice, "I never asked her. I haven't talked to Anna since the dance, not for a lack of trying though."

Well, double fuck.

He turned away, looking around the room, trying find Anna's blonde head.

"What's going on, Jack?"

He ignored it.

Then, he heard the giggle. Anna's giggle.

He was pretty lucky that he even remembered it.

He shoved the people in his way _out_ of the way and he almost wished that he didn't because the sight wasn't a pretty one, but it just got worse the longer he took it in.

Anna had her back pressed against some older guy's front and was slowly rocking and swaying her hips against his in a sexy and sensual way that Jack didn't even know she knew how. Her arm was looped behind the guy's neck, and the perv had one hand rubbing her thigh and hip. His face was pressed into her neck and it looked like he was whispering to her.

Jack didn't want to imagine what.

The anger was building up, his fists were clenched, the knuckles were white.

_Nobody_ should be touching her, except _him_.

She was _his_.

Jack was about to go over there, until he saw what was hanging loosely from Annie's fingertips at her side.

An almost empty bottle of vodka.

It took him a minute to take her in but then it all made sense. The bloodshot, unfocused eyes, the happy go lucky smile.

Anna was piss drunk.

And some guy was all over her.

He ignored the voice in the back of his head that said that Anna was all over the guy too.

He faintly heard Luke shout his name in the background, but paid no mind to it as he shoved some people out of his way and threw the nameless perv into the wall, smashing some of Tara Stanley's family pictures and the guy's head at the same time.

Anna shouted angrily, but the words were stumbling over each other because of her obvious drunkenness so it was slightly hard to take her serious.

Oh, and the fact that he was pissed of at her. Very, very pissed off at her.

The guy tried to take a swing at him, but he punched him and shoved him once again into the wall.

Anna had finally composed herself and somehow managed to swing Jack around to face her, "Hey, why do you always have to punch people when I'm having a good time?ཀ" She shouted angrily, but with a pout on her face.

He was too distracted and too gone in his anger, to notice perv guy had gotten up and was about to take a swing at him.

He was preparing himself for the blow, when Simmons came from nowhere and landed a kick to the guy's stomach.

Jack and Luke just stared at each other for a couple of seconds, after all it was just a month or two ago that they were the ones fighting.

Anna chuckled darkly at the irony, taking a final swing of vodka, finishing the bottle.

"What the fuck are you doing?" Jack shouted at her.

Anna just rolled her drunken eyes, and that was when Jack had enough. He grabbed the clear bottle from her and threw it at the wall, smashing it into a million little pieces.

Anna whimpered, Jack ignored it, choosing to just roll his eyes at her obvious drunken state.

He grabbed her hand and pulled her roughly into the cold night.

This wasn't what he had planned at all.

* * *

They did not speak the entire walk home. Instead, he just dragged her through the cold air, his legs making long, unmercifully quick strides, stopping only when she felt the need to vomit.

It didn't take them long to reach the quiet and still Mercer household. There was unspoken words between them to keep quiet, even in her drunken state Anna realized the importance.

They'd never hear the end of it if Evelyn found out.

They snuck their way upstairs, careful not to hit the creaky step. And once they got there, Jack headed straight to his room and shut the door directly in Anna's face.

She didn't barge in like he expected to, and he tried to deny his disappointment to himself, but really it was useless.

He was changing out of his shirt when the door slowly creaked open. He didn't have to turn around to see that it was Anna.

She was obviously coming down from whatever high she was on earlier.

With his back still turned toward her, and no light but the shine that the moon provided, Anna started to talk, "You mad at me, Jackie?" There was a light note of sorrow in her voice.

He didn't turn to look at her, but instead looked at her through the mirror on his dresser. There, his tired eyes looked into her ghost ones.

Her green eyes had turned dull, and some messy, untamed curls fell covering most of her face.

"Yeah, I am. Go to bed Anna, I'm not in the mood."

She made an odd noise, her lips trembling. This was her low. Her crash. Her downfall.

"Don't close the door on me, Jack." He had a feeling she didn't just mean the door to his room.

He laughed loudly, he laughed angrily and vindictively, "What? Like you've been doing to me this past month? When was the last time we actually talked, Anna?"

She moved towards him, even though he still hadn't turned around. He imagined her sad eyes to be begging him, but really he couldn't bring himself to care.

He was hurt. He was angry. He was- he was broken.

Her cold hand touched his back, right next to his spine, inches from a burn scar one of his foster parents had left on him years ago.

"Please." She whispered, sadly.

Jack ignored her, but didn't attempt to move away. A tiny part of him liked the way it felt for her to be touching him.

He finally decided to speak up, after all this _was_ his Annie. "Why did ya do it?"

"I-I just wanted to feel _good_. I missed it." She chocked out, tears getting caught in her throat.

"You had to drink an entire bottle of vodka to feel _good_?" He whispered harshly, moving out of her reach.

"You had to lie to me?"

She gave a dry sob, and quickly moved to stand in front of him. Her head barely reached his chest.

Anna didn't look up at him, "I knew you wouldn't want me to go, so I had to tell you something. But I just needed it to stopཀ I needed everything to just stop and slow downཀ"

He didn't say anything, he was too angry and didn't want to lash out. So he just stood there, like stone.

"Please." She begged.

He still didn't move. He wouldn't give in.

She gave another sob, this one wasn't dry though. It came with lots of tears.

She started to babble.

"I-I just wanted to feel, Jackཀ I wanted to feel good again, not like I've been feeling these past couple of month. And I just- I just love you so goddamn much, and I couldn't stand the way you looked at me, the way Miss Evelyn looked at meཀ Hell, I couldn't stand the way I was looking at myself. Please, please, forgive me."

Finally, he gave a sigh. He closed his eyes. He put his arms around her.

They stayed there for a minute, letting the moonlight wash down in on them.

Anna stood up on her tippy toes, and whispered into Jack's ear. The whisper was soft, and full of desperation, her breath was hot on his ear and made him tremble as did the words, "Please, make me feel good Jack, please."

He straighten up in confusion, and looked down at Anna.

She stared back up at him, and she slowly leaned into him, pressing the entire length of her body into his with deliberate slowness and incredible grace for a drunk person.

She was so warm, so soft...so Anna.

She rubbed her center against the front of his jeans, her hips against his. Then she rocked them.

"Please Jack, make me _feel_ again."

She rubbed again, this time harder.

Jack's eyes rolled to the back of his head.

_Oh god, oh god, oh god, oh god._

Her head was bent back, exposing her neck, her hand on his hip, rubbing small, circle. Her soft pink lips chanting a please over and over again.

She was _begging_ him.

He looked down, and he could practically see down her shirt. He could see the reaction she was having from rubbing against his bare and naked chest, and at this point, he was sure she could _feel_ the reaction_ he _was having.

Anna reached up then, kissing his neck, whispering into his ear, "Please Jack, I know how you feel, it's the same way I feel. Don't you want to make me feel better?"

It was too much. He pushed her away. This wasn't Anna. It may have been her body, but that was it. He didn't even know this person.

She landed on a heap on the floor. He didn't mean to hurt her, he really didn't.

"Get out, Anna." She didn't move, "GET OUT!"

She scrambled out the door, her eyes wet with unshed tears.

He let out heavy, deep breaths.

Fuck. When did the world get shot to hell?

* * *

Instead of going to her home like she should have, Anna ended up on the floor in the bathroom. It was remarkable how Evelyn hadn't woke up from Jack's angry scream and her sobs.

She was crying to hard her breaths came out in sobs, her tears completely obscuring her vision.

She didn't consciously know what led her to the bathroom, but something in her, something dark and something uncontrobable had led her there.

She just wanted to feel good, dammit. The alcohol hadn't done it. Even _Jack_ hadn't done it. If anything, it made her feel worse.

Jack's angry, infuriated eyes and his angry hand as he pushed her away made her feel worse than she ever felt.

She pushed herself up from the floor, disgusted by herself and wiped the tear soaken hair from her face, and then used her hand to brush away the tears from her eyes.

Out of the corner of her eye, Anna caught her reflection in the mirror.

Her bloodshot, red, haunted eyes, her sad mouth, her pale, sickly skin.

Who was she?

And then Anna Georgia James realized something. She had it all wrong.

It was better to feel nothing, than to feel bad or to even feel good.

She wasn't sobbing when she opened the bathroom cabinet.

She wasn't even crying when she reached for Bobby's old pain medication.

She wasn't thinking about Miss Evelyn, or Bobby, or Jack, or Mark, or her dead father or even her bitch of a mother as she unscrewed the cap.

She wasn't thinking about feeling when she swallowed the remainder of the bottle in one, dry gulp.

She wasn't thinking of feeling.

She wasn't feeling when Jack found her an hour later. Unconscious, and dead to the world around her.

She didn't feel a part of Jack dying as he held her in his arms, rocking back and forth, crying her name, and screaming for his mother.

* * *

I missed you guys! I really, really did. And I hoped you liked this chapter, even if it is angst filled! And I am in no way supporting underage drinking, or drug use...

Stay in school, kids!

I hope the 4, 207 word and 11 page update makes up for the long hiatus :)

Review!


	12. Chapter 12

A/N Hi guys, remember me? I am so sorry for how long this story took to be updated, but I guess I just lost my mojo somewhere along the way. I came home for Christmas holidays and made a point to update it. But I overestimated the amount of time I`d spend slurping the eggnog and decking the halls, but I dooo have this chapter to publish! Hope you kids enjoy it because it only happened as a result of the wonderful reviews I received while on hiatus! I love you guys!

Disclaimer: I am very tired and sick; I can't be witty in this state. I don't own Four Brothers, kay?

* * *

She just didn't understand. Anna James didn't understand why _they _couldn't understand she just wanted sleep. She just wanted to be numb for a bit.

She didn't understand why her hands were strapped down in the stinky hospital gurney. She didn't understand why the doctor used terms like "clinical depression" or "as a result of some recent events," or, terms dramatic as "attempted suicide."

She didn't understand why Miss Evelyn wouldn't look at her, why her pale, white and aging hands remained firmly clasped together as if she was trying to stop herself from choking "clinically-depressed-because-of-recent-events-girl-who-may-have-attempted-suicide-and-is-now-strapped-down-like-a-rabid-animal."

Anna, in her mind, was merely tired of the world around her. She was tired of it screwing her over and leaving her in shambles. So she just wanted to get away from it.

There was no need for everyone to get their goddamn panties in a twist over it.

Especially goddamn Jack Mercer.

He wouldn't even go near her. Hell, he wouldn't even go to the hospital. He was probably home; strumming away at his stupid guitar calling Muffy asking her if she wanted to share a milkshake or something.

Eek.

Oh right, she was supposed to be listening to Asian Doctor chick and Evelyn.

"…you'll have to attend weekly therapy sessions and-"

"I am not sick." Anna said firmly, glaring at the doctor.

Evelyn coughed and looked at her sternly, "Anna, you overdosed on medication."

"I just wanted to sleep!" She insisted and it was true. She just wanted sleep and to get away.

"Yes, but your blood alcohol level was 0.20." The doctor said, peering over her glasses.

"What were you thinking, Anna?" Evelyn asked. There was no anger in her voice, just desperation, sadness, and even some guilt.

When Anna spoke her voice was shaky despite her trying desperately to get it even and cool, "Trying not to I suppose."

* * *

Jack couldn't look at her without feeling the rise of bile in his throat. His fists clenched at his sides, an unbearable surge of anger started from deep within in, his heart hammered loudly in his chest and his stomach clenched in disgust.

_'Where the fuck did she get off trying to kill herself_?' Jack thought, infuriated with the girl he had shared everything with as he stomped into his house.

His mother didn't even get a chance to turn off the engine before he opened the car door. He couldn't stand being around the blonde. She had been shooting him looks since they left the hospital and he couldn't stand them, he couldn't stand anything about Anna James.

She had no right to kill herself. Yeah, she'd been through some tough shit but he had gone through worse. So had Bobby and Jerry and Angel. And they never tried to kill themselves so why did she have a right to try?

She had no right to drink herself blind.

She had no right to take those pills.

She had no right to give up fighting.

She had no right to try and_ leave _him.

Didn't she know he needed her? Didn't she know that a piece of him _died_ as he held her in his arms?

Jack Mercer needed Anna James.

But not anymore. She, like everyone else, had disappointed him.

So, he stomped up into his room and slammed his fist into the wall at the thought.

'_Fuck her._' He thought angrily.

* * *

They hadn't talked for a week. This fact resounded in Evelyn Mercer's mind almost every minute since the falling out of her Jackie and her little Anna.

It saddened Evelyn almost as much finding Jack cradling Anna's crumbled and unresponsive body in desperation that doomed night.

_Almost._

For the first time in a long time, the mother of four felt at lost what to say. What could she say to the girl who had given up on her life? And what could she say to the boy who had given up on the thing that he thought made his life worth living?

Evelyn felt the weight of someone else sitting down on the couch next to her. Lost in her thoughts, she had not noticed Anna entering the room.

The young girl slumped down onto the couch and curled her feet underneath her as she idly played with the frayed edge of a worn out sweatshirt.

"Jack hasn't come of his room then, I take it?" Evelyn said softly, grabbing the troubled girl's hand.

"I don't know, I wasn't up there."

"Anna, you've been on the other side of my son's door for the past three hours too afraid too knock."

Shock coloured the girl's face, "Nothing gets past you, Miss Evelyn." Bitterness dripped from her tone.

"Except an overly large bottle of vodka and two handfuls of pain medication."

Despite the anger she felt toward the girl and the immense about of disappointment, it was still Anna. She was still the little blonde hair girl that laughed so loud she could hear her one street over, the girl that smiled and the whole world smiled back, the girl with the big imagination and the bigger heart, the girl that squealed every time Bobby tried to kill a bug.

She was the girl that brought her Jackie back to life.

'_But_,' Evelyn thought despondently, _'she was the one girl in the world that had the power to break Jack. And she almost did.'_

"What you did, Anna, was extremely selfish." Evelyn said, but not unkindly.

Anna tried to hide a grimace, but Evelyn saw it, "Well, maybe I'm a selfish person."

"No, you are not. Your actions were but not you yourself." The stern tone was back in her voice as she stressed the words. Then she sighed softly giving the girl's hand a squeeze, "Anna," She said slowly and carefully, "you've had a lot of terrible things happen to you and you've lost the person you've loved most in this world and I understand this darkness that you've been going through-"

"No you don't!" The girl scowled.

"Yes, I do." Evelyn said sternly, "So does Bobby and Angel and Jeremiah and Jack. None of us have had easy lives, Anna. You know that as well as I do. But the then is Anna, you've got to keep fighting, you've got to get away from the darkness."

The girl was quiet for a long time, "So when does it get better?" She asked, her voice monotone, "When do I win?"

"I don't know," Evelyn responded, her voice hushed but truthful, "no one does. But that doesn't mean you stop or you give up, Anna."

Anna didn't respond but Evelyn knew she understood. "You've got to be brave, Anna. But you know it's okay if you're scared and frightened and sad. That's normal. But if you don't let yourself be happy or excited then _they_ win. The people that do_ this_ to you have won. And everything that Mark has done will be wasted."

Anna nodded furiously, her eyes wide and wet, "I tried to Miss Evelyn, I did." She said, the words rushing from her mouth jumbled and sad, "But I just couldn't. All I could see was Mark, all day every day and I couldn't stand it! I just wanted it to go away."

Evelyn grabbed the girl and held her in a firm grasp. She wiped away the tears that fell from the girl she had watched grow up, and smoothed out the messy hair belonging to the girl that she wished was her daughter.

"It's going to be okay." Evelyn promised, whispering sweetly.

Then, a prominent knock came from the door. Anna stilled in Evelyn's arms and her tears stopped rushing from her eyes.

"I should get that." Evelyn whispered and got up to answer, but not before giving the girl one last squeeze.

She walked to the door carefully, and wiped away her own tears that had fallen while in the embrace.

The door opened to reveal a tall, imposing and overall cross looking woman. Her dark, slightly curly red hair was cut very short, the woman's red mouth was set in a straight, thin line, and cold, green eyes stared at Evelyn coldly and distantly.

The green eyes were Anna's eyes.

As Evelyn took in the woman's pearl necklace and pearl earrings, and the woman's clean cut yellow dress, she forced a smile at the very out of place woman, "Hello, how may I help you?"

The woman raised a ginger eyebrow and forced a too polite to be real smile, "You must be Evelyn Mercer."

It wasn't a question. It was a fact.

"Yes, and may I ask who you are?"

"Celeste Jensen."

_Jensen_. Mary's last name.

Evelyn's mouth fell open. Celeste Jensen was Mary James' sister.

'_Oh god. Oh no.'_

"Can I come in?" Celeste said promptly and very business-like.

Evelyn mutely nodded, too shocked and concerned to say anything.

As she was closing the door with a soft thud, two voices spoke up simultaneously.

"Who is it?" Evelyn turned around to see both teenagers had appeared. Jack had made his way downstairs and had stopped midway down the stairs and Anna was standing in the doorway from the living room.

Evelyn's eyes snapped from Jack to Anna who was looking at the woman with something akin to recognition and a lot of shock.

"No," The blonde whispered, looking at the woman.

Ms. Jensen was staring back at the teenager. Evelyn saw the woman's features relax slightly but she also realized the woman was giving Anna a thorough scrunitization from head to toe.

Her messy and unbrushed hair, her pallid, grey skin, her half malnourished body, her dark eyes, her second hand unwashed clothes.

Evelyn felt shame wash over her.

"What are you doing here?" Anna asked angrily.

Celeste just stared back at the young girl, not blinking and showing no emotion. The woman made no effort to respond to the question.

"Can someone tell me what the hell is going on?" Evelyn heard Jack asked angrily and annoyed from his spot on the staircase.

Evelyn turned toward him. Her youngest son was standing there, looking between the new guest and the girl he had ignored completely the last few days. His fists were clenched at his sides, his breathing was heavy, and his eyebrows up to his hairline in irriation.

Evelyn realized absently that it was the first time Jack had left his room to do something besides eating and using the bathroom since Anna had come home.

"Hello Anna." Celeste said calmly, still staring at the girl.

"What are you doing here?" The girl gritted out, tiny pale hands clenched at her sides.

"What's going on?"

"Jack," Evelyn cut in, her back to the boy as she now faced Celeste and Anna, "this is Celeste Jensen, she's Anna's aunt."

"You told me your family was dead!" Jack shouted at the girl, making his way loudly down the staircase and standing at his mother's side.

"They are." Anna responded simply, not turning to make eye contact with the boy despite her efforts to talk to him the last few days.

Evelyn was about to reprimand the girl but Celeste cut in, "Anna, that is no way to talk to me. I am not only your family but your elder." Her accented voice was stern and unwavering.

"Didn't you know," Anna said huffily, crossing her arms around herself, "my family died weeks ago. But I shouldn't bother you with the knowledge as you couldn't be_ bothered_ to come to the burial. _Or ya know, pick up the phone_!"

"I'm sorry about that, Anna." Celeste said, but there was no sympathy in her tone, "But I'm here now. I'm here to help you."

"I do not need nor want your help." The blonde yelled.

"I'm your fam-"

"Just because you send a few Christmas cards and birthday cards out of guilt for your _pathetic excuse _of a sister _does not mean _we are family."

Anna was breathing heavily now too and Evelyn was mildly surprised that she hadn't resorted to physical violence.

"How about we go and sit down?" Evelyn interjected, moving to stand next to the girl and to lay a hand on her shoulder.

"How about she gets her ass back to Georgia?" Anna said.

"Anna." Evelyn scolded.

"_Fine_.

* * *

I'm evil, I realize. I love cliffhangers as much as I love Disney movies...WHICH IS ALOT.

At least Anna is alive. YAYYY! I've honestly forgotten how easy it is to write these characters and this story and how much I love writing this fic. So review and kick my ass into gear so I will update!

Reviews are love. So love me. Review me!


	13. Chapter 13

Hi guys! Here it is : ) I'm sorry it took a long time. University is crazy but right now I'm on midterm break and I couldn't resist posting. I promise once this semester ends in April, regular updates will be back.

I really hope you like this chapter…I have a feeling though you won't…

Remember, I own nothing except for Anna and Chuck the elephant!

* * *

Chapter 13

Jack should probably have been concerned about the damage he was doing to his guitar with his angry strum and violent plucks but he couldn't bring himself to give a damn.

The loud, rough noise distracted him from thoughts of Celeste and the conversation he had witnessed a half hour ago.

He trained his eyes coldly to the other side of the room in hopes that he'd get the image of Anna's face the hell out of his mind.

Like in most areas of his life, he failed.

He thought about how disgusted Anna looked when her eyes met her aunt's, but how that disgust lessened as her Aunt continued to talk about her – _their_- family. There was definite anger in her eyes through the conversation but when Celeste made the offer for Anna to move to Georgia with her; to live, to eat, and to breathe with her Anna had lost it.

She had stood up in anger and had shouted words that _Jack _didn't even know. Her face had flushed red and her hands balled up in tiny, ineffectual fists at her sides.

If Jack hadn't been so pissed at her for the pills he would've felt proud.

It took a harsh scolding from Evelyn to get Anna to sit down and actually listen to Celeste.

Celeste had made her case – she had money and a place that was away from Detroit and the still present pile of debris. Anna could get her act together under Celeste's care.

Jack didn't like the growing look of interest on Anna's face as Celeste continued. However, he knew she tried to hide it and kill it. She had snapped at the red head that she didn't care if she had a hundred million dollars and house in Paradise, Celeste Jensen was nothing to her.

What happened next continued to replay in Jack's mind.

Celeste had just stared back at the angry teen's face, seemingly unaffected by the outburst, and coldly said, "That's fine. But I just want to make it clear Anna that with your brother dead and your mother absent, I _am _your legal guardian and one thing I do have control over is your place of residence. And given recent _events_," She said, glancing up and down the worn and tired body of Anna, "no judge in their right mind would go against that statement."

And here Jack thought things couldn't get worse. After all, it was hard to top arson, murder and a suicide attempt.

His mother had just sputtered nonsense and then shown Celeste out with hard eyes while Anna just sat there, dumbfounded.

As Celeste's words echoed in his head, his fingers pressed down hard on the strings and the strum took on a hard, face pace.

A rustle from the door caught Jack's attention. His fingers and hand stopped in their movement.

Instantly, he noticed a tiny slip of paper had been pushed under his door. Slowly and for some reason cautiously, he moved to pick it up.

On it, sprawled in Anna's loopy handwriting, were the simple words, 'I'm Sorry.'

He didn't move at first. He just stood there grasping the tiny slip of paper tightly,

Finally, he moved his eyes to the bottom of the door where the paper had come from. He noticed a shadow that he was sure belonged to Anna. No doubt she was standing on the other side, wringing her hands anxiously and biting down on her bottom lip in anticipation.

Her leg was probably bouncing in nervousness.

Suddenly the shadow moved. Anna had lost her nerve and started to move away from the door.

Not really thinking, Jack opened the bedroom door. He heard her stop. But he made no attempt to talk to her to tell her to come in.

He was sitting on his bed, strumming his guitar moments later when she finally entered his room.

"Hi." Anna said, looking down at her lightly folded hands.

"Hi."

Conversation stopped then. The silence was uncomfortable. Jack's unwavering, hard stare didn't make it any comfortable. But he didn't really care.

Anna started to fiddle nervously with her hands and she starting biting down on her bottom lip.

She gestured nervously to the new rug occupying Jack's floor.

The rug that covered the bleach stain. The bleach that was used to try and get rid of Anna's blood pool from _that _night.

"The stain is covered. If only everything was that easy. Just go out to K-Mart and buy a rug."

If only.

"What do you want, Anna?" Jack asked, bored and tired.

Anna snapped her gaze away from the rug to meet Jack's eyes. Her green eyes were wide and pleading.

Begging.

Anna never begged.

"I'm sorry." She whispered, lips trembling as she moved toward him. She sat down on the opposite side of his bed and turned towards him.

"I'm sorry." She repeated, stressing the words. Despite how obviously nervous and stressed she was, the words didn't falter.

Absently, Jack noticed that it had been a long time since they were this physically close to each other.

Anna leaned closer to him, making it impossible for him to look anywhere but her eyes. The only thing that kept Anna from practically leaning on his chest was his guitar.

"I really am sorry, Jack. You gotta believe me."

He imagined his stare was no longer cold or harsh. Now, it was just blank. Just like his mind.

But his eyes met hers anyway.

"Do you know how many people have said that to me, Anna? And how many of those people hurt me the next chance they got? A lot of _god damn_ people, Anna."

He was too tired to be angry.

She got closer. So close he could smell her flower, sunshine smell. God, he missed it.

"How many of those people loved you?" She asked eyes still wide and pleading.

"A lot of them said they did." He said coldly, ignoring the warmth in his stomach at her words. The weird fluttering. The racing heart.

"Well, they didn't love you the way I love you." Anna said softly, her eyes never leaving him.

The two stayed there, just staring at each other. They didn't move or make any attempt to. For the first time in a long time they were just Jack and Anna.

"You know," Jack said, breaking the silence, "the last time you were in here you were drunk outta your mind, grinding me and about to take a bottle of pills."

'_Eh, maybe I'm one of those freaks who get off on pain.'_

Anna shot him a shocked look; he tried to look innocent, "What? Just pointing out the elephant in the room."

The blonde snorted and said, "Let's call him Chuck."

Jack didn't want his lips to turn upward, he really didn't but he couldn't help it.

Because for the first time in a long time, this was Anna.

Brilliant, beautiful, funny, laughing, shining Anna James.

Jack's Anna was back.

Anna smiled, but it faded away quickly. Her words were soft and rushed, "I tried to tell you. I tried to explain it. But I couldn't, Jack. Not properly, anyways. It became too much. I just wanted it to stop."

"How do you think I felt?" Jack asked, "Seeing you there on that bathroom floor, you barely had a pulse Anna! I thought you were dead." He whispered the last part, "Do you have any idea what that did to me?"

Anna, to Jack's surprise didn't look away in shame.

"I had foster parents who hit me every day. I once spent a week locked in a room with no one to talk to or hardly anything to eat. One of my parents use to time me to see how long it took me to pass out from their blows. I got hit, I bleed, and I was treated like shit. And those were the good days. But nothing compared to seeing you on that floor. Thinking you had killed yourself."

Her gaze was intense and unwavering, but at this point tears had started to fill her eyes. It was only a few days ago that he thought the sight would give me a warm, tingling feeling in his stomach.

Now that she was here, in front of him and those big emerald eyes were filled with tears? Not so much.

"I couldn't handle the thought of you trying to kill yourself – the thought of you wanting to get away from me."

"Jack!" She started to protest, but the look on his face made her stop.

She breathed out slowly, and then she grabbed his hand and clutched it tightly, "I can't say anything to make it better. But I am stupid and sorry."

The feel of her hand was too much. The feel of Anna was too much.

For the first time in months she looked alive. For the first time in months _he felt_ alive.

His resolve broke then, so did his anger. Because all he wanted was Anna. He wanted the last few months to go away, he just wanted her back.

He wanted _them_ back. He wanted her laughter, her silliness, her quirks, her soft smiles.

And he wanted how he felt when he was with her.

He wanted _Jack's Anna_ back but he also wanted _Anna's Jack _back_._

"_We _can make it better. Don't leave with her._ Please_. Don't leave me." He whispered, grabbing her and tossing his guitar to the side.

He was begging. He never begged. But this was Anna.

_For Anna he would beg._

Her head was buried in his chest, her golden brown hair was fawned around him, and nimble fingers were sprawled on his heart. _This _was all he wanted.

"I won't." She promised. He could feel her breathe him in.

He smiled into her hair.

"Stay here tonight?" He didn't care that his mom would be pissed, didn't care if Bobby would shoot him smirking looks.

Anna tilted her head backward to look at him "Sure." She smiled and her eyes sparkled.

Jack, for the first time, felt okay.

* * *

Anna's sleep was restless.

As a result, so was Jack's.

Every time the girl woke up the boy woke up. Which was a lot.

"You okay?" Jack whispered sleepily for the 4th time that night.

Anna looked at him, and for some reason she felt as though she saw him for the first time. She was having one of those moments – a moment where someone realizes something that changes every-frickin'-thing.

"Anna?" Jack asked, growing concerned with her lack of response.

"I'm fine. Go back to sleep Jack."

He didn't think the answer was good enough and continued to stare in concern through bleary, tired eyes.

Anna tried to smile, but failed. So she leaned forward and brushed her lips across his brow.

"Go to sleep, Jackie." She whispered, her lips centimeter's from him.

The boy smiled and fell back into the pillow.

Anna always loved to watch Jack sleep. He looked like a little boy that he never got to be.

But he didn't now. There were bags under his eyes and his features weren't relaxed. They were stiff and uncomfortable.

Every time she moved, he moved in anticipation and worry.

God, what had she done to him?

The guilt was intense and terrible. First Mark and now Jack?

What had she done?

She would destroy him with worry, he would always be nervous that she was slipping away- that she was going to go to the bathroom and down pills and try and make it go away.

She couldn't do that to him. Jack had gone through hell and he deserved better.

Evelyn and Bobby and Jeremiah and Angel and Detroit was his opportunity to get back his childhood that he lost. All of that happiness that he deserved but never got.

If she stayed she would be no better than those foster parents.

With that thought, she creeped out of bed. Slowly, she tiptoed to the door. With one final glance back at the sleeping boy, she left.

She left and went down the stairs.

She left and picked up the phone.

She left and dialled a number that was sprawled on a sticky note next to it.

"Hi. Can you pick me up tomorrow? Around 3? I-I want to go. I need to."

* * *

I'M SORRY! DON'T HATE ME!

An update will be posted soon! I have a pretty detailed outline completed and I'm on Midterm Break so get ready!

Review!


	14. Chapter 14

Hey guys! I'm just quickly going to plug a fellow Four Brother's fanfic, it is absolutely amazing and I can't believe I've waited so long to do it.

The title is "Ain't No Butterflies" and it's by the amazing Judah Jones. It's a Jack/OC story so I'm sure you guys will love it!

You know I don't own Four Brothers.

* * *

Chapter 14

Jack woke up with warm flesh against his face and sunlight streaming through his window.

His face was nestled deeply and comfortably in the curve of Anna's hip while his hand was resting on her naked stomach. Jack was pleased to see that her white tank top had ridden up, exposing her pale, yet warm skin.

He liked the look of Anna's naked skin.

He was pressed to close and intimately to her that he could feel the beat of her heart. Its uneven, quick beat told Jack that his counterpart was awake.

Jack glanced up, with his nose still pressed into her skin, to see Anna sitting there against the pillows with arms folded.

She was gazing out the window, her face and eyes blank.

As Jack felt worry grow in him, Anna said softly, "You talk in your sleep, you know."

Jack, nuzzling Anna's hip with his nose gave a dismissive, "Yeah?"

As his finger was gently circling the blonde's bellybutton she said, "You kept repeating my name-"

"Hey, you can't blame a guy." Jack laughed.

"Jack," Anna said her tone serious as she grabbed his moving finger and kept it still.

Jack, instead, enveloped her hands into his and moved it so it rested on her stomach with his.

"You kept repeating my name over and over, saying you didn't want me to leave. That was between all the times you woke up to make sure I was okay." She stopped and looked at him, and he was surprised to see tears in her eyes, "You kept repeating it like a chant or something. Like a prayer almost."

Jack squeezed her hand tighter, the tears made him worry and nervous.

"You know I'm not the religious type." He joked, thinking that he didn't need a religion with Anna around.

He would worship her every day. Anna _was_ his religion.

"Stop Jack." Anna said, and when he looked up he noticed she was full on crying now. Big, fat tears were streaming down her cheeks and her lips were trembling.

"What's wrong?" He asked, sitting up fully now and looking at her in concern, "Did I hurt you?"

"No." She said quickly, shaking her head, her hands trembling and a choked sob leaving her throat, "No, you didn't hurt me Jack. But I'm afraid I'm going to hurt you."

"What?" He snapped, confused and hurt.

"I-I can't do this." She said, shaking her head in disbelief and running a nervous hand through his bed head, "I'm so-so sorry but I can't, Jack. I can't,"

"Anna, what's going on? Come on, talk to me baby."

"I need to leave."

Jack's eyes harden then, and he gritted out the words, "Why? You don't need to-"

"Yes Jack I do. I don't want to but I have to, Jack."'

"You don't have to do anything!" He yelled, his body shaking in anger.

"I'm killing you Jack. Do you have any idea how many times you woke up last night? How scared you were mumbling my name? I can't keep doing that to you."

"And the solution to that is to move to the other side of the country? Away from me?"

She scooted closer to him then, and looked into her eyes. The tears were still falling, but now not as quickly, "You know the only reason why I woke up from that night was because of you? The reason why I didn't kill myself was you. You're the reason why I tried to get past it and didn't just get past it. You are the single and only reason why I get up in the morning Jack. It's because of you I give the fake smiles and that I'm okay's." She stopped and shoved her hand in her hair shakily, "You can't be the only reason Jack. You can't be my strength anymore."

"Why the hell not?" He asked, angrily.

"I need to be strong Jack!"

"I can be strong for you Anna."

"You shouldn't have to be." Anna said, shaking her head.

Jack started to protest but Anna cut him off, "We're kids Jack! We're supposed to be kids, we shouldn't have to be strong! We're supposed to laugh and watch bad movies and go on really awkward dates and have sweaty palms!"

Jack got it. He didn't like it but he got it.

Maybe it was because of the look on Anna's face or her tone or the tears pouring out of her eyes. Maybe it was because he knew deep down, Anna had to be strong on her own and it wasn't enough that he was strong.

His strength wasn't enough, no matter how much he wanted it to be it wasn't.

"I never get sweaty palms." He tried to joke. He didn't like it when Anna cried.

She did too much of it.

Anna gave a choked laugh, knowing what he was trying to say. He got it but he didn't like it. But he wasn't going to stop her or hate her at the end of the day.

Next thing Jack knew he was getting hit in the head with a pillow. He tried to laugh, but he couldn't get to.

Anna was leaving.

The attempted laugh came out as a choke. He thought it was kinda poetic.

Jack couldn't bring himself to meet Anna's sad stare.

"I'm serious," She said, the tears coming back, "I can't do it anymore. I can't look out the window and see my life before all this crap. I can't look at Mark's ashes." She grabbed his hand, "I can't depend on you anymore like that. I can't. It's not healthy Jack."

"I don't mind, Anna." He insisted in a whisper, "I'm strong."

"I know you are. But I need to depend on me, I need to be strong. You shouldn't have to be Jack."

"I want to." He said, his voice and anger growing.

Anna tilted her head and gave him one of her Anna looks, "Yeah now you do but this is the first time we've talked in weeks. You couldn't even look at me a couple of weeks ago."

Jack didn't have anything to say for a while. Anna didn't either.

A couple of minutes went by before one of them spoke, "So you're going to leave."

It wasn't a question. This was Anna, once she set her mind to something she did it. Nothing could stop it.

The girl nodded slowly, "Just until I get better." She said, "It won't be long, it's not going to be permanent just until I don't have to fake my smiles anymore."

Jack sighed and sat on the edge of the bed, his feet meeting the floor and his elbows resting on his knees.

He could feel her stare on his back and then he heard the sheets rustle as she leaned forward.

Anna pressed himself into his back and wrapped two skinny arms around his neck. She mumbled into it, "I love you. I just need to learn how to love myself."

He sighed again, but this time a grin played at his lips. All of a sudden he just needed Anna, so he grabbed her around the waist and swung her so she now sat sideways on his lap, her little legs dangling over his.

Burying his face into her sloppy hair, he mumbled sadly into it, "I don't want you to leave me."

Anna moved her hair away and her tiny, pale fingers grabbed his hand that was resting on her thigh, linking their fingers together so moved so they were nose to nose.

"Jack," She said softly with a grin and moved so her two legs were hooked behind his back, "I couldn't leave you if I tried."

When he grinned back, she moved her nose against his and gave him an Eskimo kiss.

God, she drove him freakin' insane and in a very, very good way. If any other girl did that he'd flinch or think it was a weak ass, pussy move. But when Anna did it, his pants tightened, his pulse quickened and he forgot how to breathe.

Jack tilted Anna's head back with one and while the other rested underneath her shirt on the small of her back.

He gave her what he hoped was a charming grin and moved his thumb gently over her bottom lip, in a slow swipe.

When she gave a sweet little moan, Jack thought he'd die. Instead, he leaned in to kiss her.

Anna watched him slowly move in with wide and dark eyes. He was millimeters away when she turned her head so his lips landed on her reddening cheek.

Jack, on the brink of death, gave a sad moan of "Anna" and shoved his head into her shoulder.

Anna giggled and Jack couldn't remember the last time he heard it.

She moved her forehead against his and grinned at him gently. Leaning back from him a bit further she said, "Jack Mercer, when we kiss - and I mean really kiss – there's going to be sparkling eyes and laughter not tears and whimpers." She stopped to smile at him, "There's going to be fireworks."

Jack couldn't help but smile.

"And your palms _are_ going to sweat."

Jack laughed loudly. It come from deep within his belly and his shoulders shook.

Together, they fell back on the bed and got tangled in each other.

Anna whispered softly, "I'm going to miss your laugh. I'm going to miss you."

"I'm going to miss this."

As their hands became intertwined and silence fell across the room, Jack thought he felt his heart break.

* * *

After an hour of silence and just being there with each other on Jack's bed, Anna was forced to get up and start packing for Georgia.

_Ugh. _

As she was leaving Jack's room and cross over to Angel's where she had stayed since the fire, Bobby's voice surprised her.

"So you leaving, huh?" He drawled at her, his face blank as he nursed an almost empty beer in his hand.

Some people had Cheerio's for breakfast or waffles, Bobby Mercer had beer.

Anna just nodded and stopped to face the man she had hated almost as much as she hated her mother.

Which was a lot.

"I'm not running." Anna said plainly, feeling for some inexplicable reason that she had to prove herself to Bobby.

"Never said you were." He answered, not meeting her eyes and staring down at the now empty bottle.

"Look after yourself, yeah?" Bobby said, his brown eyes finally lifting to meet hers.

An uncomfortable feeling came over her then, but she promised with a soft voice, "I will."

As she started to walk away, she was reminded of the promises of the past and of the Bobby of the past.

He was never the guy who kissed her tears away or soothed her when she got hurt in the inevitable injuries that came with rough housing with the Mercers. As a little girl that had always been Angel's and Mark's job.

But it was Bobby that, back in the days of pirate make believe and spontaneous rough housing, would make her promise that she would get back up from the falls and that she, after a few tears, would be okay.

It was Bobby, with his mean right hook, that would punch a guy that made fun of her lack of coordination on the rink.

It was Bobby that told her if the Boogey Man was real he'd shoot him for her.

It was Bobby that was one of her first Knight in Shining Armours.

Because of that Anna stopped and turned around. Bobby had not moved, he was still there nursing his beer as he leaned against the wall and looking at her with his sad, brown eyes.

"Mark was an idiot." She said bluntly.

Bobby looked at her in surprise, not sure what to say.

"He always thought he wasn't good enough and we never had enough." She stopped directly in front of him and continued on with her spiel, "But we did cause we had each other and we had you guys, the Mercers."

Bobby covered up his surprise and snarked, "Never thought you'd be the type to talk bad about the dead."

Anna shook her head, "I'm just saying what I've been thinking since that night. And I'm not saying you aren't an idiot, because you are." She said, giving him a stern look, "You're a fool, a moron and a Neandtheral."

The teen expected some kind of witty comeback but she didn't get one, instead Bobby just stared back at her, unsure of what to say.

"And I'm going to miss you when I'm gone." Anna finished sincerely, with a tiny little shrug and a grin.

Bobby grinned back and Anna felt all the anger she had toward him fade.

He said softly but with a smirk, "I haven't showered in two days but if you can get over that fact I think this is the part where we hug and the audience goes wild."

Anna chuckled as tears came to her eyes because_ this _was Bobby. She moved toward him and wrapped her arms around his thick neck.

In true Bobby fashion, the hug didn't last too long.

As Anna backed away, she reached down her white tank top and lifted up the necklace. As it came off her neck, the sun light hit it and the silver of the key shined.

"This is yours while I'm away."

Bobby looked confused but took it anyway.

"It's the key to Mark's Impala. It's going to give me even more reason to come back beside's that boy in there of course." She said with a smile and a nod toward Jack's bedroom door. "But who am I kidding? Jack's more than enough. This will help me trust you – well, if I don't come back to find it sold for cash or a naked woman on the side or maybe some orange flames or somethin'."

The two shared a smile and things between them started to feel okay. Anna almost cried at the thought.

"I'm going to miss ya Tink."

* * *

Okay guys, so I'm not sure if you guys just didn't like the thought of Anna leaving or if people aren't interested in this story anymore, but I didn't get as many reviews for the last chapter as I usually get. So I just want to know if people are interested, because if they aren't then I have to decide to continue or discontinue with this story.

I usually hate it when authors do the whole "No one reviewed" thing insert pout and sad face here, but I usually get at least 8 reviews and this time I only got 3. Some chapters I've gotten close to 20, so I know when something is up.

BUT A HUGE THANKS TO THOSE WHO DID REVIEW. THIS CHAPTER IS FOR YOU GUYS :)

Hope you liked this chapter!


	15. Author's Note

Hey guys! So because all of you were amazing and reviewed telling me you did not want this story to end, I will be updating!

Also, I've started a new story titled The Exception. It's set in the Harry Potter universe with a Harry, OC and Draco love triangle. I am really proud of it, so check it out if any of you are HP fans! But don't worry; it will not take me away from Heaven Forbid as I've pre-written most of the chapters for The Exception!

I'm not sure when I'll be able to update HF as I'm in the middle of exams, but I'm thinking maybe 3 weeks when things cool down? Papers, assignments and midterms have taken over my life!

Thanks so much guys :)


	16. Chapter 15

Okay, so there's absolutely no excuse. Like none whatsoever. BUT HERE IT (FINALLY) IS! And guess what? This girl is done with University classes until September, and her work term is over :)

Which means, a lot more chapters and more frequent updates!

I hope you like this! It's pretty much the late spring/summer following Anna's departure.

Yeah, it's a filler but I think its pretty important and I really hope you like :)

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Four Brothers. If I did, the Four Brothers would be naked throughout the entire movie. Okay, probably not the blizzard scene.

* * *

**Chapter 15**

It took a while for Anna to realize the beauty that was the South. For days, her eyes were too swollen from the endless tirade of tears to take in the fields of beautiful flowers, the green storybook hills, and the picture perfect blanket of bright, twinkling stars that was untainted by city smog. She didn't get to smell the fresh air, Celeste's fresh baked bread and other edible goodies, or the smell of freshly cut grass. She didn't get to touch the barks of the hauntingly beautiful willow trees, or feel the lovely texture of sand under her feet. Anna didn't hear the stunning silence of the night…the peaceful, quiet, gorgeous and blissful silence.

She didn't taste happiness.

You know_, the beautiful just sweet enough_ taste?

Anna didn't get to take in any of that.

Because all she saw was Jack's eyes, all she could smell was his handsome mixture of cologne, cigarette smoke, and chocolate. The memory of how perfect her head felt nestled between the crook of his head and shoulder haunted her, the feeling of his fingers on her skin, his big hands wrapped around her waist…his caress. The sound of his rumbling, deep voice singing new songs, the huskiness of his morning voice, and the sweetness of his whisper from underneath bedcovers.

And the taste of happiness that only he brought.

And the taste of his skin, too.

Apparently, some memories come back after a drug overdose. It only took time.

But what didn't take time was the art of forgetting Jack Mercer.

Because it seemed, Jack Mercer was tattooed on Anna James.

On her mind, her senses, her heart and even on her soul.

* * *

Jack didn't want to be tattooed. Well, not in the metaphorical sense anyway. He was proud of the shining black ink that was now showcased on his skin – courtesy of Mikey G the Artist.

After a week of hiding in his room, staring at the ceiling and sniffing his Anna smelling sheets Jack came to the conclusion that he was pathetic.

And Anna was a selfish bitch.

And he was irrevocably in love with her.

* * *

After a while, the tears went away. The pain stayed, though - in her heart, in her mind.

She slept a lot and Celeste allowed it. The only demand was that Anna ate three meals a day, all with the redhead at a lace covered and elaborate table in a thoroughly decorated dining room.

As pretty as it was, she did much better sitting on countertops or in front of a TV watching a hockey game and an 11 o'clock supper on her lap.

It was when she thought back to those moments that she really, really missed Detroit. The organized chaos of the Mercer household, the soft jazz music playing in the background as the two perfectly combined families laughed together, and the sense of a perfect, fairy tale life.

A bitter taste, that she didn't understand, ruined the reminiscing.

She didn't understand it until late one night. It was 3 o'clock in the morning and she was wide awake – like she usually was in the night time. She had slipped out of the house and sat herself in one of the wide and expanse fields with nothing but the moonlight as company and the soft sounds of crickets somewhere in the distance.

As she laid down, her back making contact with the cold ground and her eyes taking in the breath taking sight of the stars, Anna came to a striking conclusion.

She was angry.

So incredibly angry.

She was angry at Celeste, she was angry at the thugs that took Mark, she was angry at Mark, at Bobby, at her father for dying, at the whore for leaving, at Jack for being so perfect, at Jack's endless list of terrible foster parents, at Evelyn for caring, at all the evil people in the world and…she was angry at herself.

For not being a good person, for being selfish and immature and for even being angry in the first place.

But most of all, she was angry at herself because of the things she wanted and couldn't have.

She wanted her father and brother back, she wanted a mother. A white picket fence and beautiful, gleaming house and a dog named Pluto.

And she couldn't have it and she needed to let it go. She needed the anger to go away.

Because if the anger went away, if she finally, finally made peace with the fact that the woman who gave birth to her walked away, that her father died and that Mark made mistakes and had to pay for them (but that didn't mean that he was a bad man) and finally, if she made peace with the fact that it was okay that she was alive…she had a chance.

She had a chance of healing. She had a chance of being happy.

* * *

Jack didn't realize how much of his life centered around Anna. He didn't really have any…friends.

Like at all.

Jack always knew that he was loner, but before he was 'the loner guy with the blonde.'

Now, he was just alone. The strangest thing was that he didn't like it. It was strange given the fact that he had spent the first eleven years of his life alone. But then Anna had come along with her shining warm eyes, messy curls and crooked grin. And he wasn't so alone anymore.

But now he was. Like he said, Anna was a selfish bitch.

* * *

Celeste's estate was gorgeous. Gorgeous as in something you would see out of the movies gorgeous.

The land was wide and extensive, sprinkled with beautiful trees and plants and flowers. Anna's favourite part of the ranch was the animals, or really, the horses.

It was a Tuesday and summer time and Anna had gotten up early that morning to shower and actually brush her hair.

She was on a quest for peace. She didn't know how one really found peace but she was going to try and find out.

After eating breakfast (and after being chastised for 'terrible' posture and 'atrocious' table manners by her ever so lovely Aunt) she had decided to talk a walk around the grounds with an old copy of Jane Eyre in her hand.

She had nestled herself comfortably underneath a willow tree, her knees bent and her book resting against her long, ankle length peasant skirt. As she flipped the page to begin to read about Mr. Mason's attack, she was surprised to find a folded picture squished between the pages.

As she smoothed out the picture, she felt the now unfamiliar sensation of her lips curling up into a smile. A toddler image of Anna smiled toothlessly up at her. Donned in a bright red jumper, 2 year old Anna was surrounded by a preteen Santa hat wearing Mark and a beaming Michael, the father she had so few memories of.

Anna sat there, staring at the picture until she realized that her cheeks were aching. Lifting a finger to them, she realized she was smiling brightly.

She laughed at the thought.

She was _smiling!_

And then, suddenly, a gust of wind blew the picture right out of her hand. Shouting a curse, Anna scrambled hurriedly up, sprinting after the picture her, her skirt now bunched up in her hand.

A skirt that she cursed as she was forced to jump a fence. The picture finally stopped..the only problem was it landed in a big ol' glop of mud.

Singing another string of curses, she bent down to gingerly pick it up.

As she squat there (yes, squat) she gently swiped the mud off the fragment of her past. She was too distracted to notice the giant hoof. But not too distracted to not to hear the sound of an obviously angered animal.

Looking up, she was met with the face of a very disturbed Black Stallion.

* * *

Summer was always Jack's least favourite season. He liked Fall and Winter. Colors changed and you could see your breath in the air, and hockey in Winter was the only hockey worth playing.

Summer was drought, sweat and heat waves where overweight men showed skin they probably shouldn't show.

Summer was going to suck a lot more now that he didn't have Anna's summer golden legs to look at.

Selfish bitch.

As if he wasn't lonely enough with the thought of no Anna, now he had to go all summer without a glimpse of her legs.

It was a Tuesday the day he got a little less lonely.

He had stolen Bobby's car and driven around the city, trying to lose himself in the streets. He was just getting out of the car and going into his favourite record store when he heard angry shouts coming from down the street.

Glancing down, he was kind of shocked to see a short and kind of chubby Asian guy and a green haired, heavily pierced skinny giant sprinting in his direction. The Asian was huffing and puffing, trying to keep up with his Green friend who carried what looked like a bass in his hands. To add to the ridiculousness of the scene, a homeless guy, releasing a string of war cries, was chasing after the duo.

A homeless guy with a tinfoil hat on.

The things you see on the streets of Detroit.

All of a sudden, a flash of recognition flashed over the Jolly Green Giant's face. He weaved through the traffic and people, his friend following in his path, until he got to Jack.

"This your car?"

"Ye-"

"You a Mercer?"

"Ja-"

"I'll give you 15 bucks and a half eaten sandwich if you drive, right now!"

Jack didn't get to answer or decide because Jolly shoved him in the driver's seat and the green haired boy and his now huffing and puffing friend climbed in the back.

"DRIVE MAN, DRIVE!" Asian kid yelled.

Jack's wide eyes looked in the rear view mirror and was scared shitless to see that the tin foil hat wearing homeless man was yielding a baseball bat.

Foot meet pedal.

"THE FUCK?" Jack yelled at the two guys.

"What?" Jolly asked innocently.

"We needed a bass for our band. He had a bass." Asian said with a shrug of his shoulders.

"HE WAS A FUCKIN' HOMELESS GUY!"

"WITH A BASS, MAN!" Asian yelled back.

There was a pause.

"You guys are in a band?"

* * *

Just as her butt fell into a pile of something she severely hoped was not horse crap, Celeste's stern voice reached her blood pumping ears.

As giant and scary Black Stallion was reined back, Anna finally felt a sense of relief.

"Do you really think that's an appropriate place to sit, young lady?"

As Anna forced her shaky feet and knees to bring her to a standing position, the blonde shot the redhead a withering look, "I don't think much about appropriateness."

"Or grammar, I see,"

Rolling her eyes, Anna slowly moved forward to where Celeste was standing with the horse.

Fully straightening her back and trying to put on a brave, unaffected face, she said in a cocky voice she picked up in Detroit, "I haven't seen anything that big, black and angry since Bobby lost Angel's hockey cards in a bet."

Celeste made an affronted noise, "You shouldn't call _those people_ black, Anna. The correct term is African American."

"You shouldn't call them _those people_." Anna shot back, her voice even and face relaxed.

People were so stupid.

"So, what's his story?" Anna asked, changing the topic as she moved a bit closer to where the horse, now free and content, was munching on some oats.

"He's wild, found him down by the river. He doesn't like people and I'm afraid if I put him in the same pasture as the other horses he'll hurt them. If he doesn't integrate or become more sociable I'm afraid I'm going to…well, you know." There was a pregnant pause, "He doesn't seem to be taking too unkindly toward_ you,_ though."

The horse, while not cuddling with Anna or shortening the distance between the two, was standing a short distance away with an almost curious look on its face.

Anna took a smaller step closer and was pleased to find that the horse had not yet backed away or had gotten angrier.

She whispered to herself, "I've always done good with strays."

* * *

I am seriously working on the next chapter right now. Next chapter will be all about the coming fall and winter :) Will Anna and Jack see each other? Talk to each other? Hmmmm!

Reviews are very, very welcomed!


	17. Chapter 17

Disclaimer: I don't own Four Brothers.

* * *

Chapter 16

"Can I help you?" Anna asked gently.

She had been lounging on a chair on her bedroom balcony, doodling with the early morning sun shining down on her when the sound of a vehicle pulling up into the drive.

Celeste had gone out to the grocery store and all of the ranch workers had already shown up and well..Celeste never had any visitors on personal business.

Which was a polite way to say that Celeste had no friends.

She watched from her point on the balcony as an old 50's style red pickup made its way toward the house and then she watched as a very tall and very broad shouldered monster of a man made his way to the front door.

Anna waited for the sound of the doorbell but it never came. Curious, she had made her way down the stairs.

The man, who appeared to be in his 50's, had not answered her question from his spot on the front porch and instead had looked at her with a funny look on his face.

"Sir?"

"Uh," The man started and made a funny choking noise, "Ce-Celeste isn't home is she?" He asked, taking off his cowboy style hat and holding it to his chest.

Anna shook her head, "No sorry, she isn't."

The man nodded quickly, murmured a "Thank you," and turned on his heel but then stopped and turned around just as quick.

"Is your name by any chance Anna?" He asked, looking straight into her eyes for the first time upon his arrival.

"Yes." She answered, narrowing her eyes and crossing her arms over her chest.

"You're Mary's girl." He said in a rush, eyes searching her face.

Anna felt the once familiar rush of hot anger gushing through her bones. Her fists clenched unconsciously by her sides. Her blood pounded in her ears.

"Well, to be someone's _girl _implies that you know that person, doesn't it?" She said distastefully, her back straightening bringing herself to her full height, "And since I've never met _Mary_, then _no_ I'm not Mary's girl."

The nameless man looked at her with an almost apologetic face and sad eyes. The genuineness made Anna feel a wave of regret.

He didn't deserve her anger.

"I'm sorry," He whispered lowly and brokenly, "I shouldn't have come. I –I just wanted to see-"

He didn't finish. Instead, he walked away, ignored Anna's shout, and peeled out of the drive way in a hurry.

It was the most curious thing.

Yet, he seemed almost familiar.

* * *

He tried to lose himself in old records from the music store.

It worked for a while. Jolly the Green Giant and Asian kid – or well, Jay and Mick – introduced him to their band _Aces_. It was his style, straight, unadulterated Punk. But there wasn't room for him, they already had two guitarists. Jay was one but the lead guy was a long, ponytailed guy named Steve who looked at Jack with unimpressed eyes.

The drummer was a black, dreadlocked guy by the name of Q that didn't say much. Well it was kind of hard to say anything with Jay and Mick around. Dumb and Dumber didn't shut up. But that was kind of a good thing because Jack was quickly becoming sick of the silence that engulfed him on a daily basis.

And then there was the ringleader – Dallas. He was the lead singer and the only person in the messed up group that intimidated Jack.

He too looked at Jack with unimpressed and suspicious eyes at first. The unimpressed look quickly morphed into one of respect when Jay and Mick told him the story of the stolen bass, but the suspicion stayed strong.

Jack didn't like someone being suspicious of him.

But he did like the attention he got from the group. The last name Mercer carried a long way, it seemed.

He didn't play with them, just hung around them when they practiced. Jay and Mick seemed to genuinely like him;Q _didn't dislike _him and even smirked a few times at his jokes, but it was Steve that treated him like he was a ghost.

And well Dallas…Dallas was the one who confused him.

One second he was a ghost to the singer, a pile of crap he accidently stepped in and the next second he was someone that Dallas seemed to almost look up to, someone that he wanted around. Even someone that Dallas liked.

The game of hot and cold confused him, but he didn't walk away.

That and the stealing from a homeless guy should have been a big enough warning sign.

But Jack Mercer never pretended to be smart.

But he did, eventually, get to lose himself.

* * *

When school started, Anna kept to herself a lot. She was a loner by nature. But that didn't go over well with the students of St. Anne's High or Celeste.

They were all a really, really friendly bunch. Like TV sitcom friendly that made her very uncomfortable and kinda made her skin itch.

It was unnatural to be that welcoming, wasn't it?

She was nice enough to them, but she made sure she kept them at arm's length.

She wasn't planning on being in Georgia for long, anyways.

Detroit was her home. She just had to make herself worthy of it.

"Did you name him, yet?" Celeste's voice asked.

So she didn't have friends at school and Jack's enthusiasm in their weekly phonecalls wasn't that great, but she did have her now beloved Stallion.

"Arion." She answered back with a gentle smile from her sitting place on the pasture's fence.

The horse had its bad days and good days, somedaysArion would allow Anna to stroke him, feed him and other times well…the horse didn't take too kindly to her and she had the bruises to show it.

He was a work in progress, just like her.

"Well, that's not something you hear every day." Celeste said, leaning against the fence that Anna was sitting on.

The two sat in silence that was oddly comfortable. Odd because almost everything between the two was anything but comfortable.

She had considered asking Celeste about the strange yet familiar man that had visited the house, but for some reason she felt as though she shouldn't.

She felt as though he should be kept a secret.

"Maybe it isn't a good idea for you to grow attached, Anna. He hasn't been integrating well and he is still wild, I think I may-"

"You may have to what? Kill him? Shoot him down?"

"Anna-"

"Arion's fine, Celeste! It's just taking some time. He's having more good days than bad."

"It was just two days agothat he knocked over six barrels of-"

Celeste's words stopped in her throat as Anna hopped down off the fence and marched right over to where Arion was standing.

She was terrified, but she made sure not to show it. She didn't want Celeste doubting her or the horse smelling her fear.

Could horses smell fear?

"ANNA!"

She ignored her, and kept marching. Arion had stilled, and tilted his head to the side and stared at her curiously. When she reached him, he didn't move and Celeste had finally shut her mouth.

Lifting her hand up to stroke his head, she smiled at the horse as it nuzzled back. She whispered softly, "Don't get scared, okay? I won't give up on you, if you don't give up on me."

Then, very swiftly, she went to Arion's side and hoisted herself up on him.

And the funniest part was, Arion wasn't scared and for the first time in a long time, neither was she.

She laughed as she held herself up high on the back of the horse, "A little wildness never hurt anyone, Celeste."

* * *

Wild was a word that Jack associated a lot with the Aces.

Jay and Mick were wildly funny and immature.

Q's wildness was in his hair.

Steve's was in his guitar riffs.

And Dallas was just wild in the abandoned, without a care, illegal sense.

And it all made Jack wild, too.

He started getting involved with some stuff that he probably shouldn't have gotten involved with. Stuff that if Evelyn knew about his ass would be kicked six different ways to Sunday.

About a month after he started hanging around with The Aces, schoolwork took a back seat. He didn't hang out with his Mom anymore and he didn't work on cars with Bobby anymore either. He roamed the streets with the guys, he got into fights with guys that his guys didn't like, he smashed things up with the guys, he smashed people up with the guys, and he crashed parties with the guys.

And with the parties came the dangerous stuff, the stuff that he thought would change him in a dangerous way.

But he did it anyway because the guys needed him. And Anna didn't. All she needed was herself and her rich bitch of an Aunt.

He started smoking pot and some other stuff, and drinking became a regular thing.

The drinking took place on the weekends; it was easier to hide it from Evelyn that way. The pot, well the pot was a daily thing. He just had to make sure he cleaned up the smell and timed it so Evelyn wouldn't be around when he was in his most stoned state.

But even in his most stoned state, he could still see Anna when he closed his eyes.

And even when he popped a few pills one night after Dallas had not to discreetly shoved them in his empty hands, he wondered if this was what Anna felt when she wanted the pain to go away.

And it was only in those moments after he popped some pills or when he did 'some other stuff' that he felt, for a few minutes at least, that his connection - _his deep, most intimate, most terrifying, and the most beautiful fucking thing ever _- connection with Anna was alive. More alive than it had been in a long time.

More alive than he felt he could ever be by himself.

That was one reason why he did it. The other was because he wanted to lose himself.

He wanted to lose Anna, too.

He hoped that eventually he'd have the courage to.

* * *

Riding Arion was a religious experience.

It was a healing, purifying and beautiful experience. It changed her, in a way that Georgia, Celeste, pills, alcohol, or anything ever could.

Even Jack. It was a hard thought to swallow but it was true.

On the back of Arion, with her hair blowing wildly in the wind and no thoughts plaguing her mind, was freedom at its finest.

A beautiful freedom.A true freedom.

Her anger disappeared while riding, her self-deprecating thoughts, her worries and concerns all become non-existent.

Arion gave her an opportunity to be wild yet tame. Fast and slow. Sure and confused. Beautiful and ugly.

Arion gave her a chance to be Anna – the girl with the wild hair and a love for books and the boy next door – but at the same time Anna James – the girl with no mother, and a dead father and brother and bad choices.

"Pretty horse."

Anna whipped around so fast she almost gave herself whip lash.

Standing there was Fred Shelton, in all of his plain shirted, cowboy booted glory.

He was a guy from her school, about a year older and the only reason she remembered his name was because of Celeste's insistence of dragging her over whenever the dark haired boy came into view.

"_He's such a nice boy, Anna. He comes from a good family, he has high ambition, never fails to attend church every Sunday, and he plays for the football team! You'd do right by a boy like Fred Shelton. _He's such a nice boy._"_

She suddenly remembered the distaste that built in her stomach and the single thought that resounded in her head, _'Jack is a nice boy, too. People just never give him the chance to be.' _

And besides, at least Jack had some sense. Lucas had the intelligence of a bag of hair. 'Pretty horse,' marked the first words that Fred had ever actually spoken that was directed at her. Mostly, it was just stutters, blushes, and stammers.

"Celeste isn't here."

The dark haired boy ignored her and moved closer to where she was petting Arion.

"People talk about you, you know? The girl from the big bad city." He said with grin.

Anna snorted, "It's sad that they can't find a topic that's actually interesting."

"Well I find you plenty interesting, Anna James."

She raised an eyebrow at that but didn't make a comment back.

Instead, she climbed up on Arion and prepared to go for a run.

"What's his name?" He asked, looking at the horse with impressed eyes.

"Arion." She answered shortly.

"Strange name." He commented, with another grin of his.

His grins were quickly making her uncomfortable.

She was so tired of that comment.

So Anna quickly recited with an eye roll, "There is no man that shall catch thee by a burst of speed, neither pass thee by, nay, not though in pursuit he were driving goodly Arion, the swift horse of Adrastus, that was of heavenly stock."

The grin remained, "Well, at least you're well read."

She wasn't expecting that. Like at all.

"Homer." The boy said with another grin.

The fuck? If you had asked Anna if Fred Shelton had any idea who Homer was, the only thing she would have thought of was Homer Simpson.

She didn't say anything, because she thought that the shock that no doubt coloured her face was enough.

"Is that you want, Anna James? To be invincible?" Fred asked in a low, teasing voice his eyebrows raised in an almost comedic expression.

As she took off on her run, she thought about how she had severely underestimated Fred Shelton.

And how that left a squeamish feeling in her stomach.

* * *

It was a Friday night and the Aces were at a Tara Stanley party. Jack wasn't sure when he began to start to think himself as a member of Aces but since everyone else already had; he didn't find the point of arguing.

As they were entering the house and as Jack was having flashbacks to that party months ago, Dallas started teasing him.

"So Jackie my boy, you finally gonna get laid tonight or what? All of these fine ladies are out showing you their stuff, and baby Mercer ain't going to do nothin' about it?" Dallas laughed, shooting some 'fine ladies' a lecherous grin.

"You finally gonna man up and cash in that V card of yours?" Dallas asked, slapping him on the back.

If they only really knew about the status of Jack Mercer's V card and how he lost it. The story would make the dreadlocks fall out of Q's head.

But he didn't say any of that. No one in Aces knew where Jack had come from and he liked it that way.

"You think I have a problem getting a girl man? Me?" Jack asked with a cocky grin, "If you haven't noticed I'm Jack Mercer and every bitch in this place knows it."

Jesus Christ, sometimes he didn't even recognize himself. Especially when he spoke.

He really wanted a joint right now.

"Prove it." Steve commanded, his tone biting and mocking.

Jack bobbed his head and looked around the room for some prey. He focussed first on a little blonde thing in the corner.

It was hard to break some habits, he guessed.

He quickly flickered his eyes from the blonde to the rest of the women in the place. He wasn't prepared to get that kind of fucked up tonight.

The grin came back pretty quick when he took in the sight of a tall, tan and curvy dark haired girl with red painted lips.

He shot a cocky grin at the boys, "50 seconds or less, boys."

Jack walked over, hands in his faded jeans pockets and leaned in toward the girl he mentally dubbed 'The Anti-Anna.' After whispering a few words, grinning a few grins, and kissing a spot on the girl's neck, she was ready to go.

He grinned at the boys as the two climbed into Bobby's borrowed or - well stolen - car and sped off.

Jack had driven a few streets down and pulled into a dark, abandoned parking lot. They had hauled ass to the backseat and before Jack could blink Anti-Anna had straddled his lap and undone his belt.

Her hands were everywhere – grasping, stroking, rubbing, pulling, doing everything that any guy would want.

She pulled her lips away and leaned back in her position on his lap. Her painted red lips curved into a sensual and sexy smile, white teeth glistened dangerously like a predator setting eyes on their prey. The nameless girl laughed and way too slowly, she lifted her shirt over her head.

Rocking her hips, she whispered huskily with a mad giggle, "I've never done a Mercer before."

He didn't get a chance to reply, because Anti-Anna leaned forcefully in and plucked at his ear with her teeth.

The sex would have been good. Jack was sure of that. But the only problem was…Jack Junior didn't want to partake in the activities at hand.

There was absolutely no reaction from 'down under' 5 minutes in.

Or 10 minutes.

Finally, the girl full on grinding on his lap pulled back, "What wrong, baby?' She asked with an over exaggerated pout.

Jack felt a strong, hot surge of anger. His fists clenched at his sides, and his knucles turned white as he shoved the girl off of him, "Isn't it obvious?" He gritted out, "your fat ass isn't doing anything for me, snaggle tooth."

The girl's face crumbled in sadness, but Jack couldn't bring himself to feel pity. The situation was just…too much, he was feeling too much.

Guilt. Shame. Embarrassment. Pain. Longing. Anger.

"Get the FUCK out!" He yelled as he shoved the girl off of him, "What the fuck you waiting for?"

The girl tumbled out of the car and Jack hurriedly made his way to the front seat. He didn't spare her even a glance.

He wasn't proud of himself, and he realized he probably shouldn't have embarrassed her like that and insulted her so harshly but he felt so…embarrassed and he wasn't in control anymore.

And Jack Mercer didn't like being embarrassed or having someone else control him.

He had spent too many years being controlled and embarrassed by some sick bastards and he wasn't going back to that.

Jesus, why couldn't he just be fucking normal for one fucking night and screw a girl?

It was damn embarrassing.

But as he swerved through the streets of Detroit, he found himself driving back to the party with a plan forming in his head.

As he pulled up to the house, he noticed the girl that caught his attention earlier that night. The blonde girl who looked like Anna. As he grinned wickedly and shoved a hand through his hair, he made his way to her.

15 minutes later Jack and Bobby's borrowed car was parked in the same position it had been in earlier that night.

But this time, instead of a husky whisper and seductive moves from a curvy brunette, there was a blonde haired and green eyed girl in his lap.

She smiled a crooked smile and he instantly got hard.

Jack Mercer lost his virginity that night.

* * *

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